Cato June and Anacostia, Also Barry Sanders on the NFL Channel
Friday at 4:30pm the NFL channel is featuring Cato and his team in DC. Thought this might be DVR worthy for a few on the board.
Also, a recent documentary of Barry Sanders' career was aired on the channel as well. Apparently it answers a lot of the questions about his abrupt retirement. It will re-air at 10pm on Saturday.
December 6th, 2012 at 5:50 PM ^
Can someone just tell me why he retired so abruptly?
December 6th, 2012 at 5:53 PM ^
Got tired of the game. Which is a testament to just how full of suck the Lions are.
December 6th, 2012 at 6:02 PM ^
Agree with his decision or not, you have to respect the fact that he made it, especially given all the further fame and $$$ he gave up.
December 6th, 2012 at 6:04 PM ^
Several years after retirement, and repeated refusals to discuss the abruptness of it, Sanders finally admitted[citation needed] that the culture of losing in the Lions' organization was too much to deal with even though he said that he could still play, and even though Detroit had made the playoffs in five of his ten seasons, including the season prior to his retirement (losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-10 on the road in a 1998 NFC Wild Card game). He explained that it robbed him of his competitive spirit, and he saw no reason to believe things were going to improve. When Detroit drafted quarterback Charlie Batch in the second round of the 1998 NFL Draft and it became apparent that Batch would become Detroit's full-time starter the next season, Sanders seemed unwilling to embrace yet another change in the Lions' seemingly endless carousel of quarterbacks and offensive philosophies. He had also gone on record to criticize Detroit's front office (most notably Chuck Schmidt) for releasing Pro Bowl center Kevin Glover for salary cap reasons. Glover was an underrated player and close friend of Sanders. He stated there were tears in his eyes as the Lions lost in the playoffs to Tampa Bay in 1998, because he knew in his heart he was never going to play another playoff game for Detroit. "I sobbed for 3 months," Sanders said.[13]
December 6th, 2012 at 6:40 PM ^
Just reading that last sentence gave me chills and made me wanna tear up. There is no one that I'd ever want to watch play a sport more than Barry. Ever !! Still wish he would come back today...
December 6th, 2012 at 7:07 PM ^
December 6th, 2012 at 7:10 PM ^
December 6th, 2012 at 8:44 PM ^
Barry would have had the record if the Lions had had a decent OL, IMO. How many times did he take the handoff and have a guy in his face. Yes, he often juked the guy out of his jockstrap and turned it into a positive, but he also lost 2 yds a lot of the time.
Imagine if many of those losses were small gains. Also imagine what Barry could do if the OL got push, and he was juking guys at the second level instead of in the backfield.
December 7th, 2012 at 8:14 AM ^
I used to imagine Barry behind the Cowboys line... he could have blown the record away.
December 7th, 2012 at 2:37 PM ^
Suck it, Emmit broke it and still holds it. Too bad Barry was a team of 1. Three Superbowls, MVPs and the 'Sweetness' record. Thats why hes in the HOF, and believe it he earned all those accolades.
December 7th, 2012 at 7:24 AM ^
The only problem i had with him retiring (aside from crushing a bit of my child soul) was he waited until after the draft or atleast thats how the front office made it sound. Kind of a dick move if thats how it went down.
December 7th, 2012 at 8:40 AM ^
that he waited for the draft to see if the future was going to be any better for the team and reason for him to regain that competitive spirit and return? I can more easily buy that than accept the front office's spin on the story, that Sanders would say screw them on the way out the door rather than the other way around.
But now to find someone with NFL channel so I can barge in and watch the Cato story.
December 7th, 2012 at 4:03 PM ^
If you saw "A Football Life," Barry had pretty much decided to quit after the seaon, but agonized over the decision. It would have been better, IMO, if he had let the Lions know before the draft how he was feeling, but he was a guy who kept his own counsel. Ross thought he'd be back.
Instead Barry sent the fax to the Wichita Eagle and went to London.
December 7th, 2012 at 8:50 AM ^
I have a love hate relationship with Barry. I was 7 or 8 years old when the lions first drafted Barry. He and Charles Woodson were the closest things I had to sports heros. I love Barry because he was and still is the most amazing running back I have ever scene and he did it all with class. I hate Barry because all those years watching him run for the lions cemented me as a lions fan for life and still have me watching the atrocity they call a football team.
At the time he retired I was crushed but now having scene legends like Jerry Rice and Brett Farve hang on way to long I am glad I never had to watch Barry's skills diminish.