SCOTT JACOBS

Joey Porter never thought it possible.  Not in his lifetime at least.  He wasn’t alone.

Many believed that a woman would become president before an African American.  Or black American, however you want to say it.  Any way you spin it, politics have spilled onto the fields where our heros play.  Athletes are speaking up like we’ve rarely heard before.  They never thought they’d see it, they can still hardly believe it.

“For America to accept us on that level as people, we went through a whole lot,” said Porter. “You got to understand he’s going to the White House.”

And for a day I’ll be happy to let the NFL’s sack leader speak his mind.  Usually Porter just bashes the opposition, like Denver’s Brandon Marshall, or Matt Cassel, but you have to hand it to the man, he’s backing his words up.  He said Miami would beat the Patriots and they did.  Fortunes have changed so much in Miami that ESPN analysts are begining to take notice.  One ESPN analyst (his name escapes me) has the Dolphins not only making the playoffs but winning the AFC East. One thing at a time buddy.

I can live with an athlete that can back his smack up and I am totally okay with politics from our athletes.  I’ve never been a huge smack talk fan, but if you can back it up, have at it.  All’s fair in love and war, and Porter is loving life right now.  His Dolphins (4-4) are the most excited .500 team in probably a decade.  They’re a game back of three teams tied at the top.  They believe.  They have a quarterback who gives them a shot.  There could be something special in the air.  Special like last night, when what once seemed like the unthinkable, happened.

The Dolphins making the playoffs seemed laughable after last season’s 15 loss debacle.  But thanks to Bill Parcells, Jeff Ireland, and Tony Sparano, Miami revamped their team, traded old parts for new ones, and they got themselves a quarterback.

Look at ‘em now. Road wins over New England and Denver.  Home victories over San Diego and Buffalo.  There’s not a bad win there.  And for a team that was just plain horrible last year, 4-4 looks like 6-2.  They’re begining to believe in Miami.  And maybe things are changing.  Afterall, few expected Florida to go blue.  And yesterday it did.

And I hate to use that word, but maybe, just maybe, change is in the air.

Take a look at the division races for yourself:

AFC East: Three way tie (Patriots, Bills, Jets)
AFC South: Titans in an absolute runaway
AFC North: Steelers looking good after handily beating Skins
AFC West: No one wants it, but mediocre Denver leads it.

Now compare that to last year:

AFC East: Patriots, and it was never close
AFC South: Colts, what a difference a year makes
AFC North: Steelers, when the Browns were finally good for a change
AFC West: Chargers started slow, finished hot

Now we move over to the NFC:

NFC East: Giants, runaway train heading to big things it looks like
NFC South: Panthers looking good early, with no expectations for once
NFC North: Bears look shaky if Orton’s out for any length of time
NFC West: Cardinals, hey division: a little competition please?

Now compare that to last year:

NFC East: Cowboys dominated regular season
NFC South: Bucs did what they had to do to hold off rivals
NFC North: Packers, Where’s number four at?
NFC West: Seahawks prove no one’s in their division.

The point being: change is in the air.  In football, in basketball (where the Hawks are 3-0 after beating New Orleans, and even in hockey (where Martin Brodeur will be out for 3-4 months for a Devils team that doesn’t know what it’s like to live without him) change is all around us.

Like it or not, it has arrived.

And lest us forget: congratulations to Kevin Johnson.  The former Suns great was elected as Mayor of Sacramento on Tuesday night.

SCOTT JACOBS

“Yes we can,” Barack Obama said.  And tonight, yes we did, elect Obama our next president of the United States.

Whether you liked him, loved him, or hated him, he’s the new man in charge.  Whether you cry listening to his speeches, gag listening to his words, or just don’t care either way, he’s going to be sworn in as our 44th president of this great country.

I personally feel tonight was an incredible night.  We found out tonight that racism is a dying breed.  We found out that people can overlook skin color, and experience, and unite behind a man that inspires the uninspired.  We will go from the man who couldn’t speak to a man who is an incredible speaker.  We will go from a former pro sports owner, to a man who’s never owned any team.  But now, Obama has done it.  He won Florida, and it didnt’ even matter.  He took Ohio and it actually didn’t matter either.  He claimed Virginia when few thought it possible when this crazy journey began.

I want to believe that the man will be the next JFK.  I want to believe that he will transcend race, and change the world for the better.  I want to believe that he’s bigger then parties, a man of his word, and someone who will provide the change he has promised.

As for what happens next?  Well, who knows.  But when the next college football team claims the BCS title in January, and when the NFL crowns its Super  Bowl champions in February, they will be invited to the White House.  Not to meet President Bush, but President Obama.  You just let that sink in for a minute.  In the meantime, from a sports perspective, we anxiously await the answer that we will soon get answered: just how much does he like sports?

It’s one of the many questions that he now has four years, and maybe even eight, to answer.

Barack Obama, the next president of the United States.