'08 was great

Perfect, admirable, inspirational and impossible. 2008 was a year in sports that we could never forget.

From the Giants improbable run at glory to the end of an era in the Bronx, to a classic rivalry renewed, 2008 saw upset after upset, even a team who’s city is upset.

It saw a league’s juggernaut fall to a team that was once a laughing stock and a single athlete perform perfection on the world’s biggest stage in the world’s most populated country.

It saw a future hall-of-famer shed tears over his teammate and bash his teammate in the same year that one of the biggest displays of sportsmanship was showcased in a small college field.

We saw a legend leave the game he loves, only to comeback to the game he loves in a place where the light shines brighter than most.

Here’s a few of the most memorable moments in 2008:

10) A hit of inspiration:
The 2008 Freedom High School graduation saw the graduate begin their journey towards their future.
For senior John Challis, his future was uncertain.
Imagine being an all-around athlete growing up, playing every sport you can, then one day finding out you’re going to die. John Challis proved to us this year that if we want to do something, regardless of the circumstances, that we can do it.
See, John Challis had cancer in his senior year at Freedom High School in Pennsylvania.
Challis, who played baseball growing up was constantly hit by fastballs growing up that he grew fearful of it. After learning of his diagnosis, Challis decided to face his fear and joined with his school’s baseball team.
In a small field on a gloomy April afternoon, with 20 people in the stands, Challis was summoned off the bench to bat .
He hit the pitch, which was a fastball over the middle of the plate, through the gap between first and second base for his first and only career hit. On his hat, he wrote “John Challis #11, Courage + Believe = Life”
Challis would go on to graduate that year, but would pass away on August 19. He was 18 years old.


9) Sportsmanship is like chivalry… it’s not dead, just in a coma:


Today’s sports world is filled with athletes explicitly taunting their opponent or getting in fights with them, or getting arrested, etc.
However, a story like this makes us realize that sports isn’t completely becoming a negative thing.
Sara Tucholsky, a senior softball player at Western Oregon, has never hit a home run in her career. Meanwhile Central Washington’s Mallory Holtman was her school’s career leader.
On a late April afternoon in Ellensburg, Washington, both would meet in key conference doubleheader. Western Oregon won the first game 8-1.
Tucholsky was struggling during the season, having just three hits in 34 at-bats, but all that was about to change.
"The first pitch I took, it was a strike. And then I really don't remember where the home run pitch was at all; [I] just remember hitting it, and I knew it was out," said Tucholsky.
The 5’2” outfielder hit her first career home run over centerfield.
The story doesn’t end here.
Tucholsky forgot to step on first base on the way around the bases. On her way to turn around to go back to first, her leg gave out and she tore her ACL.
She dragged her way back to first base and couldn’t move.
Then, a display of sportsmanship we haven’t seen in years followed as Central Washington’s Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace picked up Tucholsky from first and carried her around the bases, touching each base with her left leg.
"It kept everything in perspective and the fact that we're never bigger than the game," Western Oregon coach Pam Knox said of the experience. "It was such a lesson that we learned. That it's not all about winning. And we forget that, because as coaches, we're always trying to get to the top. We forget that. But I will never, ever forget this moment. It's changed me, and I'm sure it's changed my players."
Western Oregon would go on to win the game 4-2.

8) Who says you need college?:
The NFL draft sends 270+ players to NFL teams from colleges throughout the nation every year. Some quarterbacks win numerous awards, break passing records, and some… well some don’t play so much.
Take the case of Matt Cassel. The former USC backup to Matt Leinart and Carson Palmer only threw eight passes in his collegiate career, with no starts at all.
After Tom Brady went down in the first week of the 2008 NFL season, Cassel was thrust into duty. With no starts under his belt in four seasons as Brady’s backup and his last start coming in high school, Cassel stepped in and shined, going 13-18 with 152 yards passing and his first career NFL touchdown pass. He would start for the Patriots for the rest of the regular season, throwing for 3, 693 yards with 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, leading New England to an 11-5 record, but slightly missing the playoffs.
In the first season that he’s seen action, Cassel has thrown for more yards than Matt Leinart has in his career so far (3,458 yards) and Carson Palmer did in his first two years (did not play in 2003, 2,897 yards in 2004).
Who says you have to star in college?

7) Big Blue’s Big Idiot:


2008 was full of athletes getting in trouble with the police for many things. DUI’s, domestic violence, various drug charges, whatever you can think of, some pro athlete was arrested for it.
However, none of which can top what Plaxico Burress accomplished in November.
One of the heroes of Super Bowl 42, the Giants wide reciever was arrested for illegal possession of a firearm in New York late November, while his team traveled to Arizona to play the Cardinals that Sunday.
Now, illegal possession is somewhat common in sports, particularly the NFL (ask Dolphin’s LB Joey Porter who’s stated he has a unregistered gun), however what makes Burress’ story remarkable is that he was discovered with the gun in a New York City nightclub after accidentally shooting himself in the leg.
Yes, he was arrested for shooting himself.
Plax now faces up to seven years in prison (seven years the New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants to see done)
From Big Blue’s Super Bowl hero, to Big Blue’s Super fool, Plaxico’s career went from stardom to star-done.

6) “May the ‘Devil’ be gone… and may success shine on thee…”
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays made their Major League Basbeall debut in 1998 and never had a winning season.
Then they decided to perform an exorcism, getting rid of the “Devil” in the team name for the 2008 season.
Then they had their first winning season in franchise history, a season that included their first appearance to the postseason and the World Series, where they would lose to the Philadelphia Phillies in five games, and an incredible upset over the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS.
Third baseman Evan Longoria was recalled from Triple-A Durham and won AL Rookie of the Year honors and manager Joe Maddon won AL Manager of the Year.
Regardless of the fact that they lost the Fall Classic, the Rays we’re the shocking Cinderella story of the 2008 MLB season and look forward to the 2009 campaign.
Once again, the Rays proved that good prevailed over the Devil, yet again.

5) Phelp’s great eight
Some do well in the Olympics, break a world record or two, maybe even win a few gold medals.
There are some, and then there’s Michael Phelps.
Phelps success in the 2004 Olympics in Athens set him up for the Beijing Olympics this past summer.
His goal: win eight gold medals, shattering the record held by Mark Spitz who had seven.
Yet, the story here is not that Phelps did what was ‘expected’ of him, it’s how he accomplished such a feat.
He won in dominating fashion, and he won by the slightest of margins. He beat teams that respected his talent, and he led the U.S. to beat teams that didn’t (most notably the French 4x100 relay team).
He kept the eyes of America glued to Olympic swimming, and stole the show of the Olympics from China, to him. In short, HE was the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Beijing went from world’s most populated country to world’s biggest stage, to the world’s most memorable display of perfection.
All done by one swimmer.

4) Sweet 16-0
The 1972 Miami Dolphins were the only team to finish the NFL regular season undefeated on their way to winning the Super Bowl in 1972.
The 2007 New England Patriots looked to move in next door to the ‘72 Dolphins in Perfectville.
2007 NFL MVP Tom Brady’s 50 touchdown passes, almost half of which went to wide receiver Randy Moss. The Patriots were ranked first in every category and almost every team that came in their way.
They won in dominating and comeback fashion, and against teams that “guaranteed” wins.
They looked great at times, and looked bad at times, nonetheless, this team found a way to win.
Their 38-35 victory against the New York Giants in week 17 solidified their place as the first team since the ‘72 Dolphins to finish the regular season undefeated, and the first team in NFL history to finish the regular season 16-0.
Then came a February trip to Arizona.

3) 14 is enough
They tried to run them out of town. They doubted them in every key game, especially in the playoffs. But in the end, all Big Blue did was “Hustle hard and say ‘Hi Hater’” on their way to their third franchise Super Bowl title.
Unlike their Super Bowl opponent, the 2007 season for the New York Giants was anything but perfect. They started the season 0-2, allowing 80 combined points in both games.
However, a key goal-line stands against divisional rival Washington could’ve been the turnaround the Giants needed as they would win six straight afterwards.
They won games as close as Philadelphia and Buffalo, and won from as far as Green Bay amd London. They would end up winning 11 straight road game in 2007, an NFL record.
“Resilient” and “Road Warriors” defined the 2007 New York Giants.
Whenever the Giants were doubted, they’d win. Especially in the playoffs.
Eli Manning went from terrible to terrific towards the end of the season, especially in the playoffs where he didn’t throw any interceptions (until the Super Bowl) and also led the underdog Giants to the most unprobable upset in sports memory.


David Tyree went from nobody special team receiver to “that guy” who made the most prolific and impossible catch in Super Bowl history.
And Michael Strahan set his place in the Hall of Fame as he finally got his ring.
The Giants proved to the world the a perfect finish to the season is greater than a perfect season.

2) New York state of choke (aka Yankees + Mets= Jets)
The Yankees, Mets and Jets all shared a particular description in 2008.
They were all choke artists.
Regardless of leading their respective division through most of the season, or having an incredibly large payroll with numerous all-star and hall-of-fame players, each team could not get the job done in 2008. Which was especially worst considering that each team was exploited each and every day through the tough New York media.
The Yankees $200 million-plus payroll only earned them an 89-73 record, losing the AL East to the Tampa Bay Rays, and earned them their first October vacation in 12 years. The Yankees never found any consistency through the year, went on more 5+ game losing streaks than any 3-game win streaks and simply couldn’t come through. Despite trading for Hall of fame catcher Ivan Rodriguez midseason, not to mention having an all-star third baseman and shortstop the Yankees made the final season at Yankee Stadium, sadly, one to forget.
The Mets collapse in the end of the 2007 season was one that sports fans haven’t seen in years. After leading the NL East all season, the Mets blew a seven-game lead in mid-September, making way for the Phillies to go into the postseason.
So, there’s no way the Mets could do it again… right?
Despite having the second largest payroll in the MLB last season, the Mets re-defined the “Art of the Choke” by failing to make the playoffs for a second straight season after leading the NL east for most of the year, until finally collapsing in late August, and finishing the collapse in September.
Johan Santana was not enough to overcome numerous injuries to the Mets, not to mention a lack of hitting.
So the question now is… will the Mets make it a “3-peat”?


And then we go to the Jets.
After starting the 2008 NFL season 8-3, the Jets stole a page from the New York Mets, and one from the New York Yankees by spending close to $100 million on free agents, starting the season on top, then losing four of their last five games to finish the season 9-7 and lose the AFC East crown to Miami.
By the way, the Jets were 0-5 against teams from the west in 2008.
Favre’s return from a 3 month retirement wasn’t enough to get the Jets back in the sky again, and the 9-7 record cost Eric Mangini his job.
These three teams just go to show that money doesn’t buy championships.

1) Can’t win ‘em all


The Detroit Lions have been the laughing stock of the NFL for decades now.
However, after starting the 2007 NFL season 6-2, there were high hopes for the Lions in 2008, despite finishing the second half of 2007 with a 1-7 record.
Those hopes were dashed from Detroit as the Lions continued their losing streak from 2007.
They lost again and again and again… and even again.
They became the first team since the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers to lose every game of the NFL regular season, and the first team since the beginning of the 16-game schedule in 1979.
They didn’t go down without a fight in most games though. But in the end, they still went down.
They say in sports that it’s not how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you get back up. Well, in 2008, the Lions simply never got back up. Injuries plagued the team, losing quarterback Jon Kitna for the year in midseason. Daunte Culpepper didn’t do anything special in Detroit to start a turnaround, and the defense was simply offensive to the phrase “defense”.
It is also said that nobody remembers who loses, that we always remember who won.
The 2008 Detroit Lions are the only exception to that rule.

Gettin' canned

Fact: The NFL is a business.

Fact: To be successful in this business one must win.

The 2008 NFL season is no different as three coaches were the first down the firing line a day after the regular season finale.

The Jet's Eric Mangini, the Lions Rod Marinelli and the Browns Romeo Crennel were the first three casualties of the 2008 season as all three were fired on Monday.

Although Marinelli and Crennel were no surprise to have been let go after the season ended, the firing of Mangini came, to most New Yorkers, as somewhat of a surprise.

Marinelli just finished an 0-16 season with the Detroit Lions, losing 23 of his last 24 games.

"You can't go 0-16 and expect to keep your job," Marinelli said at a news conference.

The Lions reached history on Sunday as their 31-21 loss to the Green Bay Packers made the Lions the first team since the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers to go winless in a season, and the first team ever to go 0-16 since the conception of the 16-game schedule in 1978. They showed some hope in 2007 starting the first half of the season 6-2. but then finished the second half of the season 1-7 ending 2007 with a 7-9 record.

"They don't fire players, they fire coaches," Marinelli said.

Romeo Crennel did slightly better than Marinelli in 2008, finishing 4-12, however it's because of the team's lackluster performance that he was fired. Crennel had three years left on his current contract after recieving an extension in January as the Browns went 10-6 in '07, just missing the playoffs.

In his four season with the Browns, Crennel went 24-40 as his team didn't score an offensive touchdown in their last six losses and also poster their fifth 10+ loss season in the last six years.

Crennel isn't to blame for the disappointing season however. Quarterback Derek Anderson was lost for the year after an ACL injury and Brady Quinn was lost shortly after him, forcing Crennel to start Ken Dorsey and sign Bruce Gradkowski for their season finale at Pittsburgh in which the Browns lost 31-0, making Crennel the first full-time Browns head coach to not win agaisnt the Steelers, going 0-8 against them.

And then there's Eric Mangini.

The man who replaced Herman Edwards with New Yorks "Gang Green", Mangini was fired after failing to make the playoffs after starting the 2008 season 8-3.

Mangini started his Jets coaching career by turning the organization around in 2006 by finishing his first year with a 10-6 record, a year after the Jets struggled to reach 4-12.

In 2007 the Jets went back to a 4-12 record, but spent a record $140 million in the offseason to acquire veteran free agents like offensive linemen Alan Faneca and Damien Woody, along with trading for star defensive tackle Kris Jenkins.

And then there was that Favre trade.

However, Mangini couldn't not pull past rival New England this past season, especially a Patriots team without star quarterback Tom Brady, instead losing the AFC East to resurgent Miami.

In the NFL, the "N-F-L" means "Not For Long" if you can't win.

Thus is the case with these coaches.

Falling off the saddle

"Big D" should now stand for "Big Disappointment".



All Tony Romo could do in Philadelphia Sunday was watch his "December downfall" continue as the Cowboys were blown out by the Eagles 44-6, their worst loss in 20 years. The loss also gives Romo a record of 5-8 in the month of December.



The team that was favored to go to the Super Bowl will now be known as the team that choked (again), losing their last three games of the season.



After starting the season 8-3 and well on their way, the Cowboys simply stunk in the month of December going only 1-3 in the month.

Some could say they took a page from the 2007 and 2008 New York Mets.

The one thing we can learn from Dallas' collapse is that the best talent doesn't give you the best team. (example: 2004-2008 New York Yankees)

Romo's performance the past three weeks is anything but surprising.

In 2006, he fumbled a snap on a field goal against Seattle that would've won the game for Dallas, in 2007 he threw a last-second interception against the eventual champion New York Giants and this year, he jsut flat-out stunk against the Eagles fumbling twice, one of which was returned for a touchdown.


Cowboys owner Jerry Jones better be ready for the media circus that'll follow his team throughout the offseason. You can also bet that he's excited for it.


"I love the spotlight.... I like playing on Broadway," Jones told his team during training camp in August.


And a spotlinght he got this season.

The HBO series Hard Knocks featured the Cowboys during the preseason and training camp. However, it should've been about this regular season with the Cowboys as there was drama throughout the season, starting with Romo's pinky injury against Arizona, the drama miniseries that starred T.O., Romo and tight end Jason Witten in "Passing Scandal", which also had a cameo by former Detroit Lion Roy Williams and their embarassing loss in Texas Stadium's last game against Baltimore.

But now that the Cowboys 2008 season is all said and done, where does Jones and company go from here?

Will Romo stay?

Will head coach Wade Phillips stay?

Will T.O. find something to complain about in the offseason?

Will Adam "PacMan" Jones stay away from the police?

Stay tuned this spring and summer and find out.

Flippin' the birds (and the fins)

A year ago, Miami was the laughing stock of the league, struggling to achieve a mere 1-15 record. In that same year, hell broke loose in Atlanta as star quarterback Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months prison-time for his part in an illegal dogfighting ring and Falcons coach Bobby Petrino abandoned Atlanta late in the season to take a job at Arkansas.

Looking at these teams this season, 2007 seems like a long time ago.

The Dolphins are 11-5 and AFC East Champions after their victory against the New York Jets (aka NY Bretts) on Sunday and the Falcons are playoff bound in Mike Smith's first year as head coach, not to mention Matt Ryan's rookie campaign.

Who would've thought right?


The two big reasons for both turnarounds are simple.

Good head coaches... solid quarterbacks.

Matt Ryan has done an outstanding job not just getting the Falcons to an 11-5 record, winning his last three straight, and a spot in the playoffs which seemed like an incredible longshot in the beginning, but he has put back the fans belief in the Atlanta Falcons team itself... all in his rookie season.

His 3,280 yards passing and 15 touchdowns should make him a lock for NFL Rookie of the Year, but it's the magnitude of his quick success is what makes his story special.

Everybody thought after the Mike Vick incident that the Falcons would need about 3-4 years to be back towards the top, but Ryan, along with runningback Michael Turner (aka LT's former backup in San Diego) completed the turnaround in just one season.

The 2007 Dolphins were probably worse than the 2008 Detroit Lions. Their only win of the season came against the Baltimore Ravens in overtime as Cleo Lemon's (who?) pass to Greg Camarillo (again, who?) gave the Dolphins their first and only win, and put Ravens head coach Brian Billick out of a job.

Their turnaround started when they signed hall of fame coach Bill Parcells as their general manager and continued when they hired Tony Sparano to be the head coach.

However, it was the aquisition of quarterback Chad Pennington that made this possible.



Pennington was released from the Jets in August after they signed Brett Favre midway through preseason and was signed by Miami a day after.

Pennington played well with the Fins throwing for 3,453 yards and 19 touchdowns leading the Dolphins to an 11-5 record, winning their last five straight games and an AFC East championship (yes, over that pesky New England team).

Both teams were longshots to make the playoffs, maybe even longshots to finish at .500, but both will be playing in January, despite the critics original predictions.

The question now is, how long will each team survive in the playoffs against teams like Baltimore, Carolina, the New York Giants, Pittsburg?

0 and... Oh-no!

Maybe Jay Leno was right. Maybe the Lions should take a page from the Arena Football League and take a year off.

Last season we followed the New England Patriots on their path to perfection, an achievement that nobody thought possible.

This season we were given the opportunity to follow the Detroit Lions on their path to imperfection; another achievement nobody thought possible.

You'd imagine a professional football team, especially an NFL team would have to win at least one game... right?

Sunday's 31-21 loss to the Green Bay Packers established the Lions place in NFL history as the first winless team since the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-14), and are also the first team to finish the season 0-16 since the start of the 16-game schedule 30 years ago this season.

Through the agony of watching an NFL team that probably can be beaten by a semi-pro team, most forget that the Lions started the '07 campaign 6-2. Jon Kitna even guaranteed the playoffs for Detroit.

Poor Jon Kitna. Poor choice of words in Detroit at that.

Then again, poor Lions quarterbacks throughout the years. Including Dan Orlovsky who played decent through the last few weeks of the season. He almost led the Lions to victory... just almost.

"It can't do anything but motivate you," Lions QB Dan Orlovsky said. "I don't ever want to be a part of this again. We haven't won since, November of '07, maybe? I don't even know the last time we won a game."

Actually, the last win was on Dec. 23 of last season against the Kansas City Chiefs, but the Lions have lost 17 striaght since then and have been outscored a total of 551-281.

"I am positive that every aspect of what we do as a football team has to be rethought and analyzed," Lions veteran kicker Jason Hanson said.

That's not a bad start.

Big Unit's big homecoming

He's 45-years old with 4, 789 career strikeouts, a World Series title (Arizona, 2001), five Cy Young awards, 295 career wins (including a perfect game) and a 6'10" frame that earned him the nickname "Big Unit."

He defines the "Giant" in San Francisco Giants.

Randy Johnson's recent signing with the San Francisco Giants is the icing on the cake on what has been a hall of fame career.

"I'm excited to come back to where I started my baseball career," said Johnson who will enter in 22nd season. "As a visiting player with the Diamondbacks, a couple of the reporters would ask me, 'Toward the end of your career, do you see yourself playing in the Bay Area?' It's always nice to come back and play there."

The Walnut Creek native signed a one year, $8 million contract with the Giants on Friday and will join a starting rotation that now has, including Johnson himself, three Cy Young winners (Tim Lincecum and Barry Zito being the others) and two young promising pitchers in the right-hander Matt Cain and lefty Johnathan Sanchez. They also become the first team to have three Cy Young winners since the 2002 Atlanta Braves who had John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux.

The Giants were 17th in ERA in the majors with a 4.38 ERA last season as they turned to a youth movement that struggled towards a 72-90 record, fourth in the NL West in 2008 and missed the playoffs for the fifth consecutive time since their 2003 postseason loss to the Florida Marlins.

With Johnson now, not to mention the offseason signings of shortstop Edgar Renteria and relievers Jeremy Affeldt and Bobby Howry, the Giants go from bottom of the barrel to immediate contenders for the NL West title in 2009.

Johnson will also bring the fans back to AT&T Park as the Giants also failed to reach 3-million fans for the first time in the park's nine-year history as they went 37-44 at home in 2008.
In 30 starts with the Arizona Diamondbacks last season, Johnson went 11-10 with a 3.91 ERA and 173 strikeouts as he now has 295 career wins and (barring injury) will get #300 in his hometown. He also made his season debut in San Francisco last April.

Johnson also looks forward to mentoring that young Giants rotation, at the same time he'll look to enjoy his time in the Bay Area as it might be his last in the majors.

He wouldn't tell you that though.

"I don't think I want to, and people are going to go, 'My God, will you retire already?' " Johnson said. "I'm not going to say I'm done because I haven't even started this year. I'm excited to start this year. The last two seasons have been very draining for me because I've had to come back and prove that I'm healthy."

Money can't buy everything... can it?

After finishing eight games out first in the AL East last season with a lackluster 89-73 record, not to mention missing the postseason for the first time since 1996, the Yankees plan to build from the farm system was scrapped immediately.

This offseason so far, at least the month of December, saw the Yankees go back to what the Yankees do best... buy their chance at the World Series.

In their upcoming 2009 season opener at Baltimore, the Yankees will have the highest-paid third baseman (Alex Rodriguez, $28M in 2008), shortstop (Derek Jeter, $21.6M in 2008), first baseman (Mark Teixeira, $180M/8years), catcher (Jorge Posada, $13.1M in 2008), pitcher (C.C. Sabathia, $180M/8yrs.) and closer (Mariano Rivera, $15M in 2008).

Is it safe to say that the current recession doesn't affect the Yankees... yes.

Do we feel bad... no.

Is it fair that the Yankees can spend this kind of money and other teams can't?

Now that's debateable.

The Yankees $423.5 million Christmas shopping spree is unheard of in sports today, and only made capable by the Yankees. Nobody comes close to the Yankees when it comes to money. The second highest payroll was $137 million by the Mets, and the lowest in the league was $22 million by the Florida Marlins (who finished with just five wins less than the Yankees).

"As long as we follow the rules, which we do, provide hundreds of millions of dollars [in luxury taxes], as we have over the past several years to other teams, and spearhead enormous revenue to the commissioner's office, networks and other entities, people should allow us to run our business the way we think is the most appropriate," said Yankees team president Randy Levine who, along with the Yankees organization, do not apologize for their way of business.

However, the Yankees "way of business" this decade have not resulted in World Series titles... just simple disappointment.

After beating the Mets in 2000 to win their third consecutive World Series, the Yankees have been to it just twice this decade, losing to both the Diamondbacks in 2001 and the Marlins in 2003.

After the big signing of Alex Rodriguez for just over $250 million in the offseason before the '04 campaign, the Yankees haven't come close to the World Series, losing to the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS in 2006, the L.A. Angels in 2005, and missing the postseason completely last season.

And then there's the "Boston Massacre" where the Yanks led the ALCS 3-1 over the Red Sox and allowed Boston to win three straight to win the series, and eventually win the World Series over St. Louis. (But we'll stay away from that for now...)


Money doesn't buy everything. After all, the Phillies only had the 13th highest payroll ($95.5 million) in the majors last year, while the Yankees had the highest ($207.1 million).

The Yankees MVP Alex Rodriguez made $28 million last season while World Series MVP Cole Hamels made $500,000.

Lets ponder that one.