Espo – Arizona Cardinals Are Fine, Team USA Isn’t

Sometimes 140 characters just aren’t enough to encapsulate all takes.

Here’s my take with no character limits. (See what I did there?)

The late and mostly great Denny Green once asked “who the hell takes the third game of the preseason like it’s bull(Marcel Shipp)?”

I’m here to finally answer that question. The 2016 Arizona Cardinals can take the third game of preseason like that. I certainly do.

When your goal is hoisting the Super Bowl trophy in Houston come February and many around the NFL think it’ll happen, what takes place in August just doesn’t matter. Outside of a major injury to Carson Palmer, Patrick Peterson or a starting offensive lineman, there is not one thing that can happen in these glorified practices that will change much of anything.

It’s like Bosom Buddies or Joe and the Volcano not being able to ruin the career Tom Hanks would put together or Remote Control not being able to destroy Adam Sandler (his Netflix movies did that without any help).

The only thing that matters is how they look opening night on NBC versus the Patriots and the 16 weeks after that. For the first time in the history of the franchise they’re viewed as true title contenders and they can’t prove people right or wrong until the games count. So yes, I take the third game and for that matter the first, second and fourth games, as bull(Marcel Shipp).

Today redemption is spelled d-o-n-e.

I don’t know about you but I’ve had about enough of the “Redeem Team” mentality in Olympic basketball. We get it. The United States is The Rock of international hoops, the most powerful and popular force in the game. But, unlike Dwayne Johnson, the act just isn’t fun anymore.

Even the players seemed disinterested at times in Rio. So how do we spice it up?

It’s time to make the Olympic team 23 and under. Let the young guys, including some in college, carry the mantle of USA basketball. You can’t tell me that a team that was comprised of D’Angelo Russell, C.J. McCollum, Devin Booker, Karl Anthony Towns and Brandon Ingram wouldn’t have been entertaining as hell in Brazil these past few weeks. Sure, maybe they wouldn’t have won every game but it would have been fun to watch the young guys grow on the World’s biggest tape delayed stage.

If that idea doesn’t float your global boat, how about this one? Let’s just bring back the Dream Team. No, not some half baked fax simile the real Dream Team. So what if they’re in their 50s? Let’s relive the magic with Magic, Michael and Sir Charles. Even if they lose, we’re at least going to be more entertained than a Rock and Vin Disel feud by the journey.