[CBFF] Ct - It's beautiful when heart trumps wallet

[Jerry Madsen]

Yeah, trading him will be a tall task for the ChiSox if they so desire
in the years to come.

That aside, I wasn't sure what to think about the article.  I couldn't
disagree with anything he wrote, but when he got talking about Briggs,
I thought Morrissey got pretty preachy, even by his standards.

Jerry


On 7/11/07, Kenny Claxton <kenny.claxton at gmail.com> wrote:
> He has a no trade next season and has a list of teams that he can be traded
> to the season after that. No to mention the $20 million that is added to his
> deal if he's traded.
>
> On 7/11/07, mactbone <mactbone0 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> >
> > BTW, it's a virtual certainty that even with the hometown discount the
> > White Sox are going to trade Buehrle in the next two years. Sure gives you a
> > warm fuzzy feeling for sports franchises.
> >
> > -Chris
> >
> > ----- Original Message ----
> > From: Jerry Madsen <jerrywm at gmail.com>
> > To: CBFF <post at chicagobearsfanforum.com>
> > Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2007 12:35:27 PM
> > Subject: [CBFF] Ct - It's beautiful when heart trumps wallet
> >
> >
> > It's beautiful when heart trumps wallet
> > Rick Morrissey
> > In the wake of the news
> >
> > July 11, 2007
> >
> > For years, we have been fed a steady diet of depravity—criminal
> > activity, drug abuse, infidelity and unbridled greed. But enough about
> > the NFL.
> >
> > Something happened this past weekend that doesn't happen often in the
> > world of professional sports. Two athletes in the same town looked
> > around, decided their lives weren't going to be enhanced by more money
> > and chose to stay put.
> >
> > Presumably independent of one another, the White Sox's Mark Buehrle
> > and the Bulls' Andres Nocioni came to the conclusion that a fellow
> > could live quite comfortably on a huge, multimillion-dollar contract
> > if he were frugal and kept his Maserati collection down to a workable
> > number of, say, 10.
> >
> > This is not meant as faint praise. The natural instinct is to say that
> > it doesn't take a whole lot of character and self-control to say yes
> > to a four-year, $56 million contract, in the same way it wouldn't take
> > a whole lot of character and self-control for Brad Pitt to hold off
> > evicting Angelina Jolie from their thatched hut.
> >
> > But when Buehrle accepted the above contract and when Nocioni agreed
> > to a five-year, $37.5 million contract with the Bulls, it at least
> > meant that sanity had established a tiny beachhead, that heart
> > mattered and that happiness levels don't necessarily increase as
> > salary numbers spin upward.
> >
> > Buehrle, who would have been a free agent after this season, could
> > have received much more money on the open market. If Barry Zito could
> > land a seven-year, $126 million contract from the Giants last year,
> > then Buehrle surely would have gotten something in that ballpark after
> > this season.
> >
> > But he said he liked playing for the Sox, the organization he grew up
> > in as a pro. He said he liked living in Chicago. He said his wife
> > liked living in Chicago. Their soon-to-be-born child probably will
> > like Chicago, too, though the infant might wonder what general manager
> > Ken Williams is going to do about getting the Sox back to the
> > playoffs.
> >
> > Nocioni would have made slightly more money and would have been a
> > starter if he had signed with Memphis. But he liked where he was,
> > liked his team, liked his life. He liked it so much he was willing to
> > stay in Chicago despite the likelihood he will remain a reserve for
> > the Bulls, though a valuable reserve.
> >
> > The money might be greener on the other side of the out-of-bounds
> > line, but you can't always trust that it's better.
> >
> > "I just want to say thank you to the fans, thank you to the
> > organization for giving me the opportunity to play five more years in
> > the NBA," Nocioni told the Tribune's K.C. Johnson. "I'm really happy
> > for this. I want to give everything of me to play hard every night,
> > with passion every night, to win for the Chicago Bulls.
> >
> > Gratitude and hunger from a pro athlete. Interesting concepts.
> >
> > The Bears' Lance Briggs probably thinks all of this is impossibly
> > naïve. And maybe it is. Maybe Buehrle and Nocioni are suckers. The
> > Bears exercised their right to place a franchise tag on Briggs for
> > this season, meaning he can't sign with any other team but the Bears
> > have to pay him $7.2 million in 2007. He doesn't like this and is
> > threatening to sit out the year.
> >
> > You wonder how he would feel if the Bears traded him to Oakland, where
> > he would get a long-term contract and the prospect of long-term
> > losing. Would that be a victory for him? Would that bring happiness?
> >
> > The problem is that Briggs and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, can't see
> > the forest for the money trees. They can't see the bigger picture—that
> > if Briggs ends his silly protest, he will make more money in 2007 than
> > 99.9 percent of the population makes in a lifetime and that he will
> > play for a Super Bowl contender.
> >
> > Briggs' fear that it all could end tomorrow because of injury doesn't
> > hold up. It indeed could end tomorrow, and Briggs somehow would have
> > to make do for the rest of his life on $7.2 million and whatever else
> > he has saved. If he got bored, he could spice things up by actually
> > finding another profession.
> >
> > What's missing here is what Nocioni exhibited earlier: gratitude.
> > Briggs would be wise to sit back and take stock of what he has. He
> > plays a game he apparently loves. He plays for a very good team. He
> > can make a huge amount of money this season. He has the opportunity,
> > if he has some luck on his side, to make a lot more money in the
> > future.
> >
> > He has friends here too. The other night, Briggs threw a party at a
> > Rush Street club that reportedly attracted 1,000 people, including
> > many teammates.
> >
> > But he's obsessed with what he doesn't have—more money and more fame.
> > More's the pity.
> >
> > rmorrissey at tribune.com
> >
> > Copyright (c) 2007, The Chicago Tribune
> >
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