Swag Award of the Week March 1-March 7

Kurt Warner is the 'Swag Award' winner for this week, and he earned it. His story may have gone under a lot of your radars this week with the likes of T.O., A-Rod, and Manny all vying for the lion's share of media coverage.

Warner announced this week that he would in fact be staying with the Arizona Cardinals instead of leaving for another team via free agency.

The Cardinals signed the 38-year old Warner to a two year, $23 million deal. Of that $23 million, $19 mil is guaranteed; $4 million a year salary and a $15 million signing bonus. Not bad Kurt.

Warner, the three time league MVP is coming off one of his best seasons as a pro throwing for nearly 5,000 yds and 30 touchdowns. Warner was about two and a half minutes from winning his second Super Bowl as well, but an impressive drive by the Steelers capped off by an impressive catch by Santonio Holmes sealed Arizona's fate.

Now, I'm not giving Kurt the Swag Award simply because he signed a contract this week. Manny Ramirez signed an even bigger deal for $45 million. Kurt Warner earns the Swag Award because of the way he handled the situation.

After stating that he wanted to retire as a Cardinal, Warner and the organization could not reach an agreement over contract negotiations. Warner went so far as to test the free agent waters by making a visit to Arizona's NFC West rival, San Francisco 49ers.

After the visit, Warner and his agent Mark Bartelstein did the right thing and resumed negotiations with the team. Warner even offered to take LESS money in order for the team to have more funds to keep talented WR Anquan Boldin on the squad. Boldin along with Larry Fitzgerald formed one of the most prolific wide receiver tandems in the league last year.

Talk about a company man. After losing the Super Bowl and many key coaches and players from last year's team this offseason, Kurt Warner remained loyal to the franchise, overcame his ego, and even offered to accept less money to remain with the team. How's that for swag?

That's what I'm talking about Kurt. Everyone in the league is paid, and the AZ Cardinals have a good thing going right now. There's no doubt in my mind that with Warner back under center, the Cards can't make another run at the postseason. It would have been a shame to see him finish his career with another team. 

It is for those reasons that Kurt Warner earns this weeks Swag Award.

Swag Award of the Week Feb 23-Feb 28

Every week I will be awarding what I call the "Swag Award of the Week." This award be awarded every weekend and will go to the individual who displays the most "swag" throughout the week. Swag is a loosely used term, and everyone has their own interpretation. Old Spice says swagger is 'the scent that makes the difference.' I think we can all agree that overall not giving a f!@k; disregard for what people think about what you're doing, gusto, cajones, balls, and confidence are all prerequisites of "swag."

With that said, I am proud to announce that the "Swag Award of the Week" goes to none other than MANNY RAMIREZ.

It was announced yesterday, that Manny rejected yet another offer by the LA Dodgers to keep him on the team for at least one more season if not two. The latest offer would have put $25 million in Manny's pocket this season and an option for $20 million next season. Manny and his agent Scott Boras (also the agent for A-Roid, Carlos Beltran, Daisuke Matsuzaka, & Mark Texeira) kindly said no thank you for the fourth time since November.

For the baseball fans out there, you'll remember that the Dodgers acquired Manny from Boston at the July 31st trade deadline. Manny went to LA and DID WORK, hitting .396 with 17 long balls, 53 RBI in 53 games. PS..The Dodgers won the NL West title largely due to Manny's bat.

Considering that the Dow Jones average has gone down 21% since November and average Americans are sinking like the Titanic, for this man to still be turning his back on nearly $50 mil in this economy in my mind is the epitome of "swag." The Dodgers have made 4 offers (no other team has made one offer) to this man in the last 4 months, and he still isn't happy.

I guess he knows something we don't. Good luck Manny. Enjoy your award.