Vote Cribbs

One of my favorite topics to harp on is how stupid fan voting is for pro sports all-star games (the games themselves aren't that great, but that's another article.) Fans are totally inept at this task and shouldn't have any influence on who is selected, ever. Ever. I remember a few years ago when Nomar Garciaparra led AL shortstops in All-Star voting even though he hadn't, in fact, played a game that year. Great job, fans!


Now I've got a new one to complain about: the Patriots' Wes Welker leading the AFC in voting for kick returners just because he plays for the Patsies. The man is SEVENTH in punt return average and doesn't return kickoffs. Think about that, digest it for a minute. He only does half of the team's returning, and six guys are better than him at that half of it. Granted, seventh is respectable in punt returns, but we're not voting on respectability, we're trying to select the league's best return man. And Welker is clearly not even close to that.

I think we've established that anyone who casts a vote for Welker is a fool. This is especially true when you have an option like the Browns' Josh Cribbs. Not only does Cribbs lead the league in kick return average (his total KR yardage is nine times of what Welker has piled up in all of six returns on the year), but also sports a punt return average that is, you guessed it, better than Welker's.

Vote Cribbs!