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Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
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Before the NFL season was halfway done, the bloggers, broadcasters and babblers all decided that the world MUST know who might be the NFL’s MVP. They also decided it would be best if it was an ancient quarterback on a surprisingly successful team: Kurt Warner, Kerry Collins or Brett Favre.
Why so early? Why those guys? Why all the talk?
And, in a season where no one player stands out, why not a defensive player for the first time since 1986 and only the third time ever?
Or, to take it to even sillier lengths, why not nine MVPs: the New York Giants’ offensive line plus fullback Madison Hedgecock and tight ends Kevin Boss, Mike Matthews and Darcy Johnson? Their blocking for a team that’s rushed for more than 200 yards in five different games is probably the main reason New York is 10-1 and clearly the NFL’s best team right now.
From this perspective, the MVP right now is defensive tackle Kris Jenkins of the Jets. And if it’s not Jenkins, it’s another DT, Albert Haynesworth of the Titans. Put Jenkins over Haynesworth for the moment because he’s the main reason New York’s defense totally stymied the Tennessee offense last week, allowing Favre and the Jets to control the ball for more than 40 minutes
The last defensive player to be MVP was Lawrence Taylor in ’86. The only other was Alan Page in 1971. Since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, there have been 24 MVP quarterbacks and 12 MVP running backs, plus the two defensive guys and one placekicker, Washington’s Mark Moseley in 1982, a strike year when the regular season was just nine games.
But talking about Jenkins is inspired by last week’s performance. It might change this week, which is why the voting takes place after the season, not two-thirds of the way through.
There’s another reason based on a real example.
The Associated Press NFL MVP is chosen by a panel of 50 media members: writers and broadcasters. They include well-known media stars and ex-player/analysts and little known behind-the-scenes people who are equally, if not more, informed.
But the system is not infallible.
Until 1998, voting was completed just before the season ended.
But in 1997, the MVP was split between Favre and Barry Sanders. Then Sanders turned in a brilliant performance in the final game to get Detroit into the playoffs; yes, the Lions actually were decent a decade ago. Several Favre voters said that if they had voted after the final game, they would have chosen Sanders, who then would have been the sole MVP.
So the timing was changed because 1997 made it clear that choosing award winners and All-Pro teams must be based on 16 games; Pro Bowl balloting is usually after 13 games, by the way.
On to the candidates ...
First, let’s define MVP.
Is it the best player on the best team? Sorry, the Giants don’t have a candidate — they have a bunch of very good players having very good years, but they are a TEAM, not a group of no-names led by one superstar. That’s what New England has been for most of this decade until Tom Brady had Randy Moss and Wes Welker added to his receiving corps last season and was a runaway winner.
Even then, some people have legitimately gone past the “logical” choice in the past to vote for players who were logical picks in their own way.
One voter last season kept Brady from being unanimous by going for Favre, who at 38 had one of his best seasons for Green Bay and was the primary reason the Packers went 13-3, tied with Dallas for best in the NFC.
In 2004, one voter went for Michael Vick over Peyton Manning in a season Manning set a boatload of records, reasoning that Vick literally carried the Falcons to the NFC South title by himself.
Both votes made sense, yet both voters took so much heat for their logical yet outside-the-box votes that they wondered afterward if making a well-reasoned, thought-out selection was worth it when it would have been easier to stay with the herd.
But independence should be lauded.
Rotoworld: Oregon RB LaMichael James and Oklahoma State WR Justin Blackmon among top 10 players who are being overhyped for the 2012 draft.
Rotoworld: Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill among the 10 players who will slip down draft boards, but probably shouldn't.
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Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
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