No loyalty

Loyalty in sports is a topic that stretches between different sports.  So the topic can be discussed pretty much year round.  We often see athletes that move on from somewhere for better money, benefits, etc.  There are a few big names that have done this in recent years.  The top 2 that probably come to mind is Lebron James and Albert Pujols.  Both are the top players in their respective sports.  Albert Pujols recently signed a long term deal with the Los Angeles Angels, after spending his entire career in St Louis.  He wanted a long term deal that would keep him in STL for the remainder of his career.  He wanted to be a Cardinal for life and was willing to take less money to stay there.  His demands were more based on years than money.  He wanted a 10 year deal, which would allow him to retire with the same team that brought him up after the retirement of Mark McGwire.  The Cardinals orginization dropped the ball, and only offered him a 5 year deal.  Pujols handled the handled the whole contract negotiation admirably, I think.  He refused to let it be a distraction to his team.  He said, with emphasis that if a deal wasn't reached before the beginning of last season, it would not be addressed again until after the offseason.  And he and the Cardinals maintained that agreement.  He entered free agency after the Cardinals would not meet his 10 year demand.  He flirted with a few teams.  I figured he would end up in Miami.  After it appeared another team would meet his demands, STL retracted their original offer and offered him the 10 years, but it was too late.  The damage had already been done.  He reached a deal, and will now retire and LA Angel.  At the time, I thought this had to be one of the biggest botch jobs in sports history.  You have the best player in baseball who wanted, and would take less money to remain in your city, with your orginization through his entire career, and you let him go.  It wouldn't take long for this to be upstaged, which I will get to in a moment.  The other athlete, Lebron James, turned his back on the city of Cleveland after carrying the Cavaliers to the Eastern Conference Finals.  He took his services to the Miami Heat for better money and a ligitimate shot at an NBA title.  He was the only man in Cleveland and single handedly carried the franchise the whole time he was there.  In Miami, he has help.  Teamed with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, the Heat made the NBA Finals in his first year, despite a slow start to the season.  The biggest drama is starting to unfold now in the NFL.  Peyton Manning was unable to play a single down this season, having to undergoe neck surgery for the third time.  The Colts would find out just how valuable Manning was to them, after finishing the season with the worst record in the NFL at 2-14.  Manning has carried the Colts for most of his career, much like Lebron James did in Cleveland.  Manning is the best quarterback in the NFL, and possibly one of the best of all time.  There will always be a comparison between the Manning brothers about who is better, Eli or Peyton.  What makes this comparison unfare is the difference between the Giants and Colts orginizations.  The Giants have given Eli weapons to work with, like a good running game, many tight ends and receivers to throw to and a defense to back it up.  Peyton has had none of that, with the exception of Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne.  I'm sure it was tempting to him to go somewhere else, with some weapons, yet he remained loyal to the city of Indianapolis.  Living where I do, less than an hour from Indy, I've heard a lot more about this.  He wants to remain loyal and retire a Colt, but the decision may be out of his hands.  At first, it appeared that the Colts had learned their lesson.  But as time went on, it appeared maybe they hadn't.  Jim Irsay, team owner, cleaned house, including firing the Polians, Bill, the teams President, and Chris, the team's General Manager.  The new general manager decided it was best for the coach, Jim Caldwell to go as well.  Last week, Manning made a few comments about the Colts facility, saying it is "not a good environment to be around."  This and other comments ticked off Irsay.  Now, the newest development is saying that Manning's fate has already been decided.  It appears the Colts are ready to hitch their wagon (no pun intended) to Andrew Luck.  To me, this is a VERY risky move.  Everyone has made Luck to be the Next Peyton Manning.  He hasn't even played a down in the NFL yet!!  I remember when the Colts drafted Manning, there was another QB that was supposed to be better than Manning.  The Colts drafted Manning and passed on Ryan Leaf.  Ask the San Diego Chargers and Dallas Cowboys how Ryan Leaf turned out.  Ask the Arizona Cardinals how well Matt Leinert worked out.  Carson Palmer has been successful, but hasn't lived up to the hype of his draft expectations.  Opposing coaches in the Pac 12 have said that USC QB Matt Barkley is a better QB than Luck.  I would put more stock in their opinion than an biased analyst.  My point is, a #1 pick is just likely to be a bust, as a success.  I don't understand why, when you have a loyal, proven winner, with at least 5 years left in his career, you would want to take this gamble.  Manning has made it know that he wants to remain a Colt.  Irsay apparently wants to part ways with Manning.  My blood runs Chiefs red, so I'm not a Colts fan, so I can say this.  Because of the way this has all been handled, I hope Luck is a bust, and this backfires on Irsay and the Colts.  Even if Irsay does a 180 and decides to keep Manning, it shows that they didn't learn a single thing from the last year.  If they keep Manning, you will be devoting almost all of your salary to 2 quarterbacks.  They will have to pay Luck, a #1 draft pick's salary.  So, this will prevent them from signing anyone to help out on offense, or defense.  So, Manning will continue to carry the team on his shoulders, then pass that on to Luck when he retires.  I am not, and never will be a general manager.  But, if I were the Colts GM, I would realize I have the best QB in the NFL and try to get someone to help him out.  I would use the #1 pick to draft either Justin Blackmon (WR) of Trent Richardson (RB).  It is possible to draft a good franchise QB late in the draft.  The #2 QB in the league (Tom Brady) was a late round draft choice.  I have wondered a little from the topic at hand, but it does tie into it.  People always say that there is no loyalty in sports anymore.  The days of a player staying with one organization their entire career are over.  Most of the time these comments are directed at the players who are going somewhere else for better money.  An interesting sidenote to this, pitcher Cliff Lee left the Texas Rangers for the Philadelphia Phillies for more money and to be a part of the "dream team" pitching staff.  He wanted to win a World Series.  Well, the Phillies were eliminated early by the eventual World Series champs, the St Louis Cardinals.  Meanwhile, the team he left was one game away from a World Series title.  These are the type of players usually refered to in these comments.  But there are organizations like the Colts and Cardinals who treat these few remaining players who want to be loyal like a stray and kick them to the curb.  A person gives most of their career to them.  Wins them a championship or two, and it means nothing to the owners and management.  Who can blame the players for moving on.  There is no loyalty in sports any more, but it's just as much the fault of the organizations as it is the players.