E-Boland & Gang Green

By Tom Rock

Curtis Martin’s victory lap around Manhattan in which he made no less than a dozen media appearances to announce his retirement and his desire to own an NFL franchise in the not-too-distant future couldn’t have come at a better time for the Jets. Not because they are losing a top-notch running back (though he’s top-notch on the field no longer and, truthfully, they lost him long before today), but because it was a distraction from some other goings on. Of particular interest were the developments involving Pete Kendall and Darrelle Revis.

As of my writing this, and I look at my watch to tell me it’s 6:47 p.m., there is no deal between the Jets and their No. 1 draft pick. The Jets made an aggressive move to jump up in the draft order and grab Revis, but they’re obviously less aggressive about handing him the deal he wants (whatever that is – it’s been reported the sticking point is over the length of the contract). That would end the Jets’ streak of having their draft picks inked by the start of training camp, a streak that goes back to 1998 (I mistakenly wrote 11 years in Wednesday’s papers, but it’s eight and would have been nine with Revis). Technically, since the players were required to participate in some physicals and running tests this morning, Revis is a holdout, but for semantics’ sake we’ll give the Jets until the first practice tomorrow at 8:45 a.m. to get the deal brokered. Obviously we’ll keep an eye on this through the night, though with “early deadlines” any news that comes after a certain hour may not make the paper. So check back here for any updates.

Meanwhile, Kendall apparently decided that holding out of training camp wasn’t the right move and arrived at Hofstra this morning. He would have been subject to fines of $14,000 per day had he not shown up. I’m sure we’ll all speak with him tomorrow after practice, but there’s a good chance he’ll reiterate his desire to be traded or released. Whether he does it with the venom he used at minicamp last month remains to be seen. And whether he is with the first offensive unit also remains to be seen. Come to think of it, with the first day of training camp upon us, there’s a whole pile of stuff that remains to be seen.

As for Curtis, he was fantastic. The setting for his retirement announcement was a little unorthodox: a round-table meeting at Jets HQ in midtown with beat reporters trying to jot down his thoughts while photographers clicked away. (How many pictures of a guy sitting in a chair can you take? And who was that photographer behind me who kept bumping my head with the lens?)

As you probably already know, Curtis has his eye on owning an NFL team. And it’s no pipe dream, he’s apparently close enough to finishing the deal that he was hoping to make the big announcement today. He said he wants to use his ownership to continue the work he’s been doing as a player, namely charitable efforts. He also said he’s teamed up with Mayor Mike for an initiative that will try to reduce NYC’s homeless population by two-thirds by 2009. Considering that’s a year and a half away, it’s a pretty impressive goal. By then, Bloomberg could be President Mike.

A few things Curtis said about the NFL that I didn’t have room for in my stories today, but should prove interesting. First, on the recent rash of bad behavior NFL players have embroiled themselves in, Curtis was asked if he saw a common denominator in the incidents:

“One thing that is a common denominator in the off-season problems are three of the most dangerous things in life.If I had an enemy, these are the three things I would give to him: fame, power and money. Those things are very dangerous and if they are not managed in a mature way, they usually become destructive. That’s what we are seeing more so than anything, people having the ability to do things that normally they would not have the ability to do.”

And he was also asked about the Michael Vick situation, and gave what I thought was a strong answer, perhaps one of the more insightful comments to come out of the whole dog-fighting mess (and if you don’t know what I’m talking about, email Glauber because he’s in Atlanta covering the story). Anyway, Curtis’ take:

“It’s unfortunate. (Dog fighting) is definitely not something I believe myself or anyone else in the NFL condones. It’s not something that we agree with, that we think is right, or is going to be swept under the table. I believe the consequences for Vick will take care of themselves. But I do believe as someone who has always been an example and has the heart to help people, I believe more than anything right now he needs some support from his colleagues, from the NFL. It’s not that we agree with what he did, or condone what he did, or accept what he did, but that does not mean we should disown Michael Vick.”

Forget Bloomberg. How about Curtis for President! I’d vote for him. Too bad, at the fossilized NFL age of 34, he’s still too young to assume the Oval Office.