WATERCOOLER CHAT: JOHNSON STILL HOLDING OUT, YAO MING ELIGIBLE FOR HALL OF FAME, OCHOCINCO TO ROOM WITH A FAN
It was a slow day in the sports world, but still some items of note.
FOOTBALL
In the NFL, superstar running back Chris Johnson is still holding out of Tennessee Titans camp. Hold outs are normal in the pre-season (as we remember Darrelle Revis’ long holdout from Jets camp), but this is a little different. In the NFL, players can sign multi-year contracts. What that means is that they have to play official seasons until they become free agents. In order to get get credited for a “full season”, the NFL insists that the players report to camp by the deadline. That was Tuesday. If you don’t show up, you don’t get credit for the season on your contract. This deadline didn’t scare Chris Johnson. He had 2 years left on his contract, but he wants to get paid now.  If he gets hurt or declines over the next two years, he won’t get big free agent money. He knows that the Titans need him and is holding out for a major deal.
BASKETBALL
In the NBA, typically a player must wait 5 years post-retirement before they become eligible for the Hall of Fame. But, recently retired Yao Ming may be inducted in 2012. How? Well, not as a player, but for a contributor. Yao was one of the most influential players to ever be on an NBA floor. Why? He single-handedly made China focus not only on the NBA, but on the sport of basketball in general. If Yao hadn’t been a #1 draft pick in the early part of the decade, we most likely wouldn’t have seen such anticipation of the basketball event, practically the main event, at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Plus, when Kobe or any other major NBA star visits China, they are ambushed. The game is huge over there now, and it’s all thanks to Yao.
FOOTBALL
Finally, in some amusing news, Chad Ochocinco is trying to adjust to his new surroundings in New England. Ochocinco has been a Cincinnati resident for his entire career — that’s where his home is, so he doesn’t exactly have a place to stay in Boston. He has announced, that he will be living with… ‘a fan’. When asked if he was joking, Ochocinco said, “Have I ever lied before?”. Plus, Ochocinco said all he needs is a good Internet connection and XBOX — gotta have XBOX. Sure, the arrangement won’t be long-term, but it will be fun to see some media coverage of the experiment.
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