Scott Cordischi On Sports - Good Riddance Laurence Maroney!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Scott Cordischi, GoLocalProv Sports Editor

Potential means nothing if it goes unrealized. That was the case for RB Laurence Maroney here in New England. Pats fans no longer have to worry about Maroney teasing them with his talent. He was sent to Denver Tuesday along with a 6th round draft choice in 2011. In return, the Pats receive a 4th round pick from Denver in the 2011 NFL Draft.

A 2006 first round draft pick out of Minnesota, Maroney showed only flashes of brilliance on the field for the Patriots. But those flashes were few and far between and were overshadowed by the injuries, the dancing in the backfield and an attitude unbecoming of a winner.

Maybe Broncos coach Josh McDaniels will know which buttons to push to get the most out of Maroney or, at the very least, get some consistency out of him. Even if that’s the case, you cannot second-guess this trade. It was the right thing to do for New England because they have already wasted too much time trying to get him to be productive.

Who knows? Maybe this will be the slap in the face that Maroney needs and will force a light to go on upstairs which has been dark ever since his arrival in Foxboro four years ago. I’d like to say I wish him well but that would be disingenuous on my part. I am as frustrated with his play over the last four years as any Patriots fan and happy to see him go.

-Watching the way Fred Taylor runs the football is another reason we won’t miss Maroney. Let’s hope that the 34-year-old can stay healthy all season.

-Congrats to former URI star Lamar Odom and team USA for taking home the gold at the FIBA World Championships Sunday. Outside of Kevin Durant, Odom had as much to do with the US winning gold as anyone on the team.

-Isn’t it great to see the loud-mouthed Jets lose a football game? Let’s hope we get to enjoy that again this weekend when the Pats visit the Meadowlands.

-Come to think of it, I’m not sure which I enjoy more: the Jets losing a game or the Patriots winning one?

-Do you think that TV Azteca would have hired Ines Sainz if she were 300 pounds and ugly?

-Here we are 1 week into the season and fantasy owners like myself have already had to deal with a season-ending injury to a key player in Ryan Grant.

-Brandon Jackson and Michael Vick will be the top two most added players to fantasy rosters this week.

-Randy Moss didn’t speak all preseason and now all of a sudden he hasn’t seen a microphone he doesn’t like. Go figure?

-I don’t know about you, but something seems fishy about the whole Logan Mankins story where he was close to a new deal with the Patriots before being asked to issue a public apology. My gut tells me that the Pats were in the wrong here and may have gone too far in asking Mankins to essentially take all of the blame himself for the failed negotiations.

-Former high school classmate Dave Weeks put it best last week when he said, “my biggest problem with Brady is that he didn’t pick up the blitzing red minivan!”

-It’s a shame that there’s a wild card playoff berth in the American League. Otherwise that game Monday night where the Rays beat the Yankees 1-0 in extras would have had a hell of a lot more meaning attached to it.

-The Jets defense is spectacular, but they’re not winning a Super Bowl with that offense.

-The “completing the second act” rule which deprived Calvin Johnson of a touchdown and the Lions of an upset win over the Bears is about as dumb as the “tuck” rule that helped the Patriots defeat the Raiders in the 2001 AFC Divisional Playoff game. Both defy common sense. Common sense tells you that Johnson’s catch should have been a touchdown just as Brady’s “tuck” should have been a fumble. Both rules were correctly enforced by the officials but the league needs to change the rules.

-The Brown University football team opens up its 2010 season this Saturday at Brown Stadium against Stony Brook at 12:30pm.

-I’d almost rather the Patriots face the Jets coming off of a win as opposed to the loss they suffered Monday night.

-I love football season! What I don’t like is summer being over with.

-GoLocalProv’s next “Best Burger in Rhode Island” article should include Five Guys Burger and Fries.

-In the words of Jets coach Rex Ryan, “this column is over with. Let’s go have a f#$&-ing snack!”