…from using Twitter? What’s next, no text messaging or posting on message boards for the only thing standing between Sarah Palin and a no.1 best-seller? “Bill’s communication regarding WEEI fell short of those standards. So we’ve taken appropriate measures,” writes ESPN.com’s Rob King, essentially giving radio windbags across the nation a free shot at Simmons whenever they feel like it. Provided they’re working for ESPN affiliates, that is. My long-standing scorn for the 90210/Counting Crows scholar is well established, but it’s hard not to sympathize in this instance. This is how they thank the only guy on the payroll that’s managed to keep it in his pants?
Whether Newsday’s Wallace Matthews has become an acolyte of Fantasy Pros911’s Patrick DiCaprio or he merely prefers the idea of Omar Minaya doing a Donnie Walsh impersonation, I can’t say for sure. But Matthews might’ve actually penned a column rational Mets fans might agree with, the Amazins-baiter citing “the illusion of being competitive without being competitive at all”. It’s time, argues Wally, for Fred Wilpon (above) to compose a statement like this rather than instruct Minaya to rearrange the Titanic’s deck chairs ;
“We apologize for our atrocious 2009 and ask our loyal fans to bear with us for a year, because even though we promise to play like hell, we’re probably not going to be very good in 2010. And rather than waste money – your money – on a subpar free-agent crop and be held hostage once again by bad, immovable contracts, we’re going to sit this winter out and come back stronger in 2011.”
A proclamation like that, of course, would require a quality that the Mets don’t seem to possess – humility – and a concession the Mets are never going to make, namely a deep ticket-price cut.
Instead, they are saying things like what Minaya said at last week’s GM meetings: “In the past we’ve always been at the forefront of going after the players we need, and I think things will stay as they have been.”
The last part of that quote is perhaps the most chilling thing a Mets fan can hear: ” . . . things will stay as they have been.”
That means more cosmetic surgery for a patient bleeding from more wounds than any doctor could hope to fix. And once again, they ask you to pick up the tab.
Though I’ve never been asked who I’d like to dine with if I could choose from any 3 individuals living or dead, I’ve no trouble selecting the trio off the top of my head ; “Iron” Mike Doskocil, the late Laura Carter and former Knicks PF / Charles Oakley. Slam’s Nick Rattner interrogated Oak recently on a number of topics including, but not limited to, Michael Jordan’s Hall of Fame acceptance speech, cooking, and Tim Donaghy. Though you should check out the entire interview, here’s a few highlights :
SLAM: Would you be disappointed if Michael Jordan hadn’t spoken his mind in Springfield?
CO: At first he said he wasn’t gonna say nothing. I knew he was going to say something. A lot of us [were] in the hotel, just talking about basketball, about life, the NBA, and this moment… For me it’s a statement that you did something nobody else could accomplish along the way. Somebody might have got 10,000 rebounds but you might have got 8,000 offensive, that’s something special… And look, I told somebody on Facebook, they keep asking when the Knicks are going to retire my jersey. They probably will never retire my jersey. The only way they’ll retire my jersey is if I marry Dolan’s daughter, and I never see that happening in life. People ask me that, but I don’t know.
SLAM: [Jordan] knows that he got special treatment, right?
CO: You know, some people say I’m going to get a manicure-pedicure… No, they came to his house. I’m going to get an oil change. Jiffy Lube, they brought a truck to his house. He said he’s gonna get his haircut, the barber comes over… Looking back you might say the man might have deserved it. But while I’m playing, no… While we’re playing he’s trying to kill me. That’s how it is. He’s trying to cross me over with a jump shot, I’m trying to hit him in the paint…
SLAM: You play cards? Poker?
CO: I love poker. They tried to get me in a couple poker shows. I had an idea when I was in Washington in ‘00-01, or 2002 I think. Whenever we was in Washington that last year with the Wizards. I told MJ and some friends that we should do a poker show.
It would concern six guys, doing their regular, everyday work. We meet up, I cook the meal. We talk and mess. Eat dinner. Then we all put masks on and play poker.
SLAM: Masks?
CO: Yeah, but we’ll be talking mess while we’re playing. Get chips, buy in. You know, tape it. It was just something fun. So people wouldn’t know who was playing. They’d probably figure it out. It was just something different.
The Daily Revelle’s Xerxes A. Wilson writes the Klu Klux Klan are coming to Oxford, MS for tomorrow’s LSU / Ole Miss clash, and they’re not looking for Jevon Snead’s autograph.
Shane Tate, the North Mississippi great titan for the Mississippi White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, confirmed via e-mail the KKK will rally on Ole Miss’ campus in protest of the Ole Miss Chancellor Dan Jones’ decision to remove “From Dixie with Love” from the Ole Miss band’s song selection.
The controversy began last month when the Ole Miss Associated Student Body passed a resolution in favor of discontinuing chanting “the South will rise again” to replace it with “to hell with LSU.” The resolution was never fully enacted because it was not signed by the proper officials after passing the senate, said Peyton Beard, Ole Miss Associated Student Body director of athletics.
The student section largely ignored the resolution and other attempts to stop the chant, continuing the chant during “From Dixie with Love,” said Ole Miss English junior Dean Julius.
“We are coming to Ole Miss to say enough is enough on attacking our Christian, southern heritage and culture, and it’s time for every person to have a right to freedom of speech,” Tate said.
“We aren’t coming there to cause problems or cause trouble,” Tate said. “Trouble has already been caused by a handful at Ole Miss, including the black student body president, who wants to shape Ole Miss into yet another liberal sodomite college.”
Sorry, I just can’t get enough of using the phrase, “skull doc” Barely a week goes by without the New York Times’ Allan Schwartz reporting on findings that draw ties between NFL head injuries and one-way tickets to Vegetable City. On Friday, Schwartz reports the NFLPA, less than alarmed when Gene Upshaw was running the show, is pushing for the dismissal of the league’s concussion expert, Dr. Ira Casson.
The viewpoints and role of Casson, the league’s primary voice trying to discredit independent and league-sponsored evidence that has linked N.F.L. careers with heightened risk for dementia and cognitive decline, were a particular point of contention at last month’s hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on football brain injuries.
Several committee members criticized Casson for his stated opinions on the matter as well as his leading the N.F.L.’s study of retired players.
When a league-sponsored phone survey made public in September found that N.F.L. retirees were reporting diagnoses of dementia and other memory-related diseases at several times the rate of the national population, Casson responded, “What I take from this report is there’s a need for further studies to see whether or not this finding is going to pan out.”
Casson has said that the league’s study of retired players, which he has led since its beginning in 2007, will provide the only reliable evidence on the matter to date when it is published in 2012 or 2013.
That study has been criticized by several outside experts in epidemiology and dementia research, who said the study’s 120 subjects would be too few to find any link, and that Casson’s role in it — he is conducting every player’s neurological exam personally — was improper as a matter of medical ethics.
Two former players, meanwhile, confirmed a Rivals.com report that during a practice confrontation with former receiver Raymond Brown, whose brother had recently been shot and hospitalized, Mangino told the player, “Don’t yes sir me, or I will send you back to St. Louis so you can get shot with your homies.”
“What I would say is sometimes his temper came off in a way that wasn’t constructive, which is where you run into trouble as a coach,” said former fullback Austine Nwabuisi. “He was just trying to be ugly as a coach, as opposed to being constructive or motivational.”
Former linebacker Joe Mortensen indicated he suffered a knee injury as a result of disciplinary measures taken after he chose to spend a week at home following the Orange Bowl instead of returning to Lawrence to undergo MCL surgery on his right knee.
When he returned to Lawrence, Mortensen says, he was subjected to three months of early-morning drills that involved putting significant pressure on his good leg. Eventually, he tore his left ACL, an injury he attributes to the amount of strain he was forced to put onto the leg as punishment.
Former NBC exec Don Ohlmeyer is really coming into his own as ESPN’s new ombudsman, particularly if you believe said role oughta to involve shameless shilling for his new employer. “Storytelling at its best…dynamic tales filled with heroes and villians” is Ohlmeyer’s frothy assessment of the network’s “30 On 30″ documentary series, and in a similar display of team spirit, the recent L’affair Phillips/Hundley is characterized as an overzealous news media looking to tar the entire Bristol campus with the same sex-crazed brush.
Salacious stories about celebrities generally focus on the principals, not their employers. When David Letterman was dragged into the muck of an alleged extortion attempt surrounding his affair with a co-worker, Letterman was the story — CBS was an afterthought that’s only involvement was it airs his show.
With the Phillips affair, ESPN seemed to provide much of the celebrity cachet. Without the network, Phillips-Hundley probably would have been limited as a local New York story, and then only because of his association with the Mets. While ESPN was center stage, the network itself made a choice to provide minimal coverage of the story on its platforms.
“Stories involving us are angst-ridden, and we recognize that we don’t always do our best work on them,” said Vince Doria, ESPN’s senior vice president and director of news. “It’s tough to be objective when we’re involved in some way. We tend to do the minimum that allows us to say, ‘We covered it.’ Fortunately, these types of stories don’t come along too often.”
Oh really? While I don’t endorse AJ Daulerio’s scorched earth policy towards ESPN, there’s a number of persons — Ms. Hundley’s attorneys most notably — who might be very interested in how often these types of stories seem to come along. Huggy Harold. Schlong-Snapping Sean. Zipper Problem Steve.
Seriously folks, I don’t actually expect Don Ohlmeyer to come right out and say ESPN is the most dangerous place in America for a young woman to work east of American Apparel’s headquarters, but D.O. must assume his readers are pretty gullible. Erin Andrews aside, no one at ESPN is a household name you’d associate with stalking (sorry, Steve). But some ESPN employees might end up as casualties in the high stakes pissing match between NewsCorp. and Disney, again, not the sort of thing Ohlmeyer is going to talk about publicly. Who knows, he might want to work for Rupert Murdoch someday?
MLB’s umpiring crews aren’t alone when it comes to wildly blown calls on a huge stage. The Times’ Tony Cascarino can barely contain his scorn for France’s Thierry Henry, insisting the above incident — which catapulted Le Blues into 2010’s World Cup finals in South Africa — “has tarnished his reputation forever.”
What a tragic missed opportunity. What a chance to be a hero Henry had — not to his home country but to the whole game. Cheating in all its guises is slowly killing football and if Henry had held his hands up again and admitted to the referee that he had handled the ball and the goal should not stand, he would have earned the admiration of the entire sporting world.
But he didn’t. He knew that he had done wrong, but he put self-interest ahead of justice. He could have been a beacon of integrity; instead he shined shame on himself and on football.
Cheating in football is commonplace now because the authorities cheat us all by their spineless failure to punish the perpetrators. Will Sepp Blatter, the Fifa president, or Michel Platini, the Frenchman who is his Uefa counterpart, condemn Henry, or float the idea that the tie should be replayed? Of course not. They will turn a blind eye, and another piece of football’s credibility, another little part of its soul, will quietly die.
Normal service will return to CSTB shortly — you’d be surprised how many people get upset when I try to drive a school bus and blog at the same time. But for now, here’s an unhappy item from the Sacramento Bee’s Bill Lindelof that serves as a reminder the restaurant business is a tough one.
The game is apparently over — at least for now — for Center Court With C-Webb, the sports restaurant opened by the former Sacramento Kings basketball star three years ago.
A recording on the restaurant answering machine said that Chris Webber is calling a time out for his sports bar and restaurant at 3600 N. Freeway Blvd.
“We regret to inform you that we have decided to close our Natomas location on Tuesday, Nov. 17. However, we look forward to seeing you at our new location in the near future. Thanks to all of our patrons for your continued support over the past years. Chris Webber and staff.”
There is no indication where or when a new Webber restaurant might open. It is also unclear what caused the sudden closure, but the recession and a recent shooting could not have helped the bottom line.
The star burger was the “Fab 5,” touted as Sacramento’s biggest burger with 44 ounces of choice Angus beef and selling for a princely price of $29.50.
I’m no expert on this industry, but there’s no way Don Nelson’s frequent, negative Yelp reviews were helping Center Court’s bottom line. But if Chris Webber could have a theme restaurant in the California capital this long after he left town, maybe there’s still a chance for Aubrey Huff to open a bar in Baltimore?
While I still think Hal McRae is the champ when it comes to answering stupid questions with aplomb, Charlie Coles’ reaction to being asked how his charges blew an 18 point lead to Kentucky Monday night is deserving of much more glory than mere YouToob/meme status.
In June of 2007, Mangino (above, left) received a ticket from KU Parking and Transit for parking his vehicle in the loading zone south of Parrott Athletic Center — the 23rd time he had been ticketed for parking in the space.
Donna Hultine, director of KU Parking and Transit, reported that the particular ticket had spurred Mangino to track down the student employee who had written the ticket and launch a 10-minute, expletive-filled “tirade” so loud that it drew several employees out of nearby Allen Fieldhouse to watch.
“He screamed, yelled and cussed for a while and then got out of his car and screamed, yelled and cussed 6 inches from the student’s face,” Hultine said, in an e-mail to her boss at Strong Hall, Vice Provost Jim Long.
Contacted Tuesday, Hultine said she was pleased with the athletics department’s quick response to her complaints. Indeed, she said, Mangino hasn’t been ticketed since the incident and even has gone out of his way this season to be cordial to Parking and Transit employees when he sees them.
“It tells me that he’s willing to play by the rules and if he’s at least changed his behavior towards us, that’s great,” she said.
But two years ago, Hultine said, she was concerned for the very safety of her employees.
“I didn’t want to put any of my folks in his path,” Hultine said Tuesday. “Based on that incident, I knew what he was capable of. I had to stop it. I needed it to be addressed.”
(never let it be said no one cares about the Nets – their recent woes resonate greatly with persons who consider David Wells to be an aesthetic influence)
All season ticketholders will receive two extra tickets for Tuesday’s home game against the Indiana Pacers. The Nets are also selling some seats for $10 at the box office, while supplies last.
“Your team has played very hard this season, but with an unprecedented amount of injuries, we just haven’t been able to attain a victory,” Brett Yormark, the team’s chief executive, said in a statement.
“But even with the injuries, the entire team believes that ‘10 Is Enough.’ That’s why we are asking you, our loyal fans, to rally around your team like never before at Tuesday night’s game. So bring your enthusiasm, show your support, and let’s get our first win.”
Belson quotes a Nets source as expecting 15,000 people to turn up at the Swamp tonight, which sounds like the sort of wide-eyed optimism that should serve Mr. Yormark very well during his job interview with the New York Mets next spring.
Tackling the impending apocalypse with a worldview that makes Jim Hellwig seem postively well grounded by comparison, former Phillies catcher Darren Daulton has finally found a publisher for his eagerly awaited end-of-the-planet tome ; himself.
Welcome to my new website www.dutch2012.com. The initial purpose of this site is to provide guests with information regarding the metaphysical academia and fundamentals of 2012 and it’s correlation to metaphysics.
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I have evaluated several options as to best provide interaction amongst my guests and have decided on utilizing Facebook (Darren Dutch Daulton). Just to think several years ago I could not turn on a cyber machine (computer), now I am utilizing this technology to reach out to people who have experienced different phenomenon, and to let you know that it is perfectly normal and you are not alone.
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“That was certainly Plan A,” Ireland midfielder Keith Andrews said this morning, fiddling with his metallic-green 1970s overhead projector and trying to make the words: “Lose 1-0 at home” go away. “But we have moved on to Plan B now.” Which will come as a relief to anyone with any doubts that the Republic might actually end up at the World Cup next year. Although it has to be said the details of Plan B are still slightly sketchy. “If we win 1-0 over there, then obviously, it’s job done. It goes to extra-time and we would be happy with that,” Andrews explained, simultaneously sketching out the lyrics to his sombrero-clad, coconut-waggling We’re On Our Way To Extra Time In a World Cup Qualifying Play-Off hit song feat. Enya and the fat one from Westlife.
But still, there is some good news for Ireland: at least they’re not Scotland, for whom the international weekend provided another step forward in the SFA’s 18-month plan to agonisingly sack George Burley. Next up is a meeting this week at which George Burley may or may not be sacked, but only after much chin-stroking consideration of the words “three wins in 14 matches” plus expert evidence on whether this is (a) good, or (b) not very good. Still, it’s not all bad. As of today smouldering one-man walking cafeteria bust-up Graeme Souness has “ruled himself out” of the running for the non-vacant post.
“If [being agonisingly sacked by the SFA] was up for grabs, I wouldn’t be applying for it. My life is going in a different direction,” he explained, being very slowly dragged out of sight by a small forklift truck.
If I know the Mets (and, sadly, I know the Mets), they’ll make a major play for Holliday, envisioning him protecting David Wright (or vice versa) in a revamped middle of the lineup. But this would be foolish. If Omar Minaya is wise, he takes his (offensive) money and goes straight to the house of Chone Figgins, the Angels’ splendid third baseman. Yes, there’s the defensive alignment problem—the Mets are locked at third with Wright, at short with Jose Reyes and at second with (good God) Luis Castillo. But Figgins has shown an ability to play anywhere, including the outfield.
So why sign him? Because the Mets, being the Mets, constructed a ballpark that sucks the power from most boppers; that will only reward speed, speed and more speed. I’m not saying it’ll certainly work, but if I’m in charge of the 2010 Mets, I’m thinking of the mid-80s Cardinals of Vince Coleman, Willie McGee and Tommy Herr. Run, run, run, run, run—and hope the old-school generation of offensive somehow works.
Indeed, the Wilpons built a field with a very specific team in mind. Sadly, that team was the 1985 Cards.
Monday’s announcement that Florida’s Chris Coghlan had been named the National League’s Rookie Of The Year just happened to come on Dwight Gooden’s 45th birthday — a quarter century after the former Mets starter was named 1984’s NL ROY. Congrats to Doc on narrowly beating me to 45 and here’s hoping he continues to do so for a long, long time.
“Your freedom is our freedom. We don’t want to be here for a long time, [either]. And we want to watch Pacquiao’s fight,” Father Michael Sinnott quoted his kidnappers, GMANews.tv reports. Sinnott said his captors wanted him free as soon as possible.
Sinnott was abducted by armed men in Pagadian City, Mindanao on October 11 and released on November 12, just a few days before Pacquiao’s fight versus Miguel Cotto. The 79-year-old Irish priest, who was recovering from open-heart surgery the day he was abducted, said his kidnappers found it hard to take care of him.
On the other hand, critics of Malacañang Palace said Sinnott was released in time for the arrival of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The Palace said it was just a coincidence and that no ransom was paid for the priest’s release, despite a video of Sinnott that surfaced on October 31 saying that his captors were demanding $2 million in exchange for his freedom.
The ‘Clones deserve credit on a number of counts. For starters, giving Backman another chance to succeed in an MLB-affiliated league given the scrutiny he’ll be under is a pretty gutsy move, one that suggests the Wilpons are more interested in how the player Darryl Strawberry once called “that little redneck” might help player development (even Tom Cable doesn’t think this was great for public relations). For another, their press release on the subject openly cites Backman’s 4 day tenure as manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, one that ended when the Snakes glumly admitted they’d not done their due diligence on Wally.
Maybe the Twinkie defense that got Dan White a reduced sentence after assasinating the mayor of San Francisco and a city councilman named Harvey Milk might work. A Bay area shrink named Martin Blinder convinced a jury that White’s “capacity for rational thought” had been diminished by eating junk food so maybe there’s a defense for anything. Anybody check Belichick’s lunch box?
With 2:08 to play and a decision to be made, Belichick made the kind of choice Shemp would have made because even Larry and Moe would know better. He turned to his defense and said, “To fight this Lord Manning, strong enough you are not.”
At that moment, on an evening when Randy Moss and Tom Brady [stats] played out of their minds, Bill Belichick went out of his mind. The decision he had to make, in the opinion of NBC analyst and former Colts head coach Tony Dungy, really was no decision at all. It was a no-brainer. For a genius that can be a problem.
“As much as you respect Peyton Manning you have to punt the ball,” Dungy said.
Mere mortals punt downfield and try to put as much real estate between their end zone and Manning’s right arm. Geniuses commit hubris instead.
Tom Brady defended Belichick’s call after the game, citing his coach’s “confidence in the team”. On this occasion, said confidence didn’t extend to the New England defense.
The 86-year-old owner made an appearance on the sideline in the closing minutes, and even did a little dance as the Titans capped a 41–17 victory.
Then he turned toward the Buffalo sideline and gave the Bills the middle finger. Make that two middle fingers — Adams was using both hands.
Earlier Adams, who lives in Houston, flashed a “hook em’ horns” sign to fans in the West sideline seats.
Wyatt apparently didn’t notice Kerry Collins making similar gestures in Adams’ direction. Possibly because it never happened, but we can always hope, right?
“We’ve disappointed our fans so far this season, and I’m as disappointed as they are,” said team Owner Daniel M. Snyder. “I understand that some fans want to express their feelings with signs and they should do so, as long as they stay within the boundaries of good taste and don’t block the view of other fans.”
Washington is tied at 14 with Denver after one half in DC today ; clearly, a free and open exchange of ideas is adequate substitution for Clinton Portis.
I’ve fallen a tad out of touch with the video exploits of Nick Stevens, but if the above clip is anything to go, the recent NESN fixture hasn’t lost a step. I don’t know what’s up with former Colts head coach/spiritual advisor to backup QB’s Tony Dungy, but Cliff Richard’s secret to phenomenal physical fitness was skipping lunch (link courtesy Sox & Dawgs)
A full season and change removed from a 56 win campaign, the New Orleans Hornets had “begun to moonwalk” under recently deposed head coach Byron Scott, argues the Times-Picayune’s John DeShazier. The New York Post’s Peter Vecsey — a longtime Scott castigator — was far less diplomatic, citing “offensive predictably, stagnation and susceptibility to being bullied”, and worst of all, a recent loss to the Knicks. Ignoring the ugly exits in New Jersey and New Orleans, True Hoop’s J.A.. Adande yesterday considered Byron Scott’s future job options and for the time being, anyway, analyst work seems more likely than coaching.
There are plenty of good golf courses in Southern California, and it’s possible Scott could wind up back there when Phil Jackson decides to leave the Lakers. Scott’s on the list of potential replacements, along with Minnesota Timberwolves coach Kurt Rambis and Lakers assistant Brian Shaw. Remember, Scott began and ended his playing career with the Lakers, spending his final season alongside a rookie named Kobe Bryant. Last year Scott told the Los Angeles Times that the Lakers are “an organization that will be embedded in my heart for the rest of my life.”
But Phil Jackson is looking more and more embedded in the organization. His health and energy seem better than they have in years and his team appears set to be a championship contender for a few seasons. Then there’s the possibility that there could be a lockout for some of the 2011-12 season, which would appeal to Jackson because he could make another run at a championship without trudging through a full 82 games.
Adande correctly surmises Scott is no more likely to return to the Swamp than Bobby Valentine is to Flushing —- though it should be stressed, the Nyets will have new ownership and Jason Kidd’s no longer around to make the big decisions.
“If (Knicks PG) Chris Duhon continues to play the way he did and has been playing,” grumbles Knicks Blog’s Chris Alvino after last night’s 121-107 loss to Golden State, “this might be a 20 win team this year.” 20 seems optimistic , as the 1-9 Knickerbockers might be fortunate to win half that many during a season in which Mike D’Antoni’s charges seem to have totally bought into management’s agenda for the future. Why bother playing defense until LeBron arrives?
That said, D’Antoni’s job security isn’t being question this morning, but rather, Warriors counterpart Don Nelson, who didn’t survive a pissing match with Chris Webber during a prior tenure, and might not last after his relationship with Steven Jackson has fallen apart, either. CBS Sports’ Ken Berger claims Nellie’s “insistence on alienating and humiliating his best players — which continued at Madison Square Garden even in victory — could soon lead to a coaching change.”
With no realistic trade scenarios emerging for Stephen Jackson — and with the team’s other miserable star, Monta Ellis (above), wanting out, too — Nelson’s last option to keep the team from blowing up already is under consideration. Nelson, 69, would assume a consultant role, with top assistant Keith Smart taking over as head coach.
“It could happen by next week,” the source said.
When confronted about the possibility of stepping aside only eight games into a two-year, $12 million extension, Nelson crafted a bullet-proof answer. He insisted he has no intentions of going anywhere other than the Bradley Center, where the Warriors play the second half of a back-to-back Saturday night. Thanks to Nellie, they’ll do so with their two stars, Jackson and Ellis, coming off inexplicable 47- and 45-minute performances, respectively, against the Knicks. “Oh, I have the patience, yes,” Nelson said when I asked if he had the staying power to continue coaching/imploding this team. “The team wanted me to come back for two more years. I signed that contract and I will abide by that.”
But nowhere does it say that Nelson has to fill out lineup cards or draw up plays to fulfill that contract. It was sad, pathetic really, that this brilliant basketball man’s idea of coaching Friday night was leaving the disgruntled Jackson on the floor for all but 35 seconds of a blowout. For good measure, he also embarrassed No. 7 overall pick Curry in the very building where he’d hoped to spend his NBA career. If Curry thought he might face some dysfunction if the Knicks had picked him at No. 8, these few months with Nelson have been quite the education.
I’m in Las Vegas on one of my annual (ahem) fact-finding missions this week, and though I’ve yet to secure a ticket for tomorrow night’s welterweight title bout between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto, I can happily report bobbleheads of the two combatants are available in most of the hotel gift shops for a measly $40. That’s a pretty good deal compared to the $10 commemorative Pacquiao/Cotto cans of Tecate.
“Of the 263 no-hitters ever thrown in the Big Leagues,” mused the folks at No Mas in an e-mail message earlier today, “we can only guess how many were aided by steroids, but we can say without question that only one was ever thrown on acid.” And while the late Dock Ellis’ 1970 no-hitter has been mentioned in this space, chronicled by someone far more skilled, and recalled by artists including but not limited to musician Barbara Manning and painter Jay Kaplan, no one has ever tackled this historic event quite like illustrator James Blagden.
Earlier today, the New York Post’s Bart Hubbach called out Mets executive V.P. of lying David Howard (above, third from left) after the club reneged on an earlier pledge to lower season ticket prices. Lower them, they have, just not nearly as much as previously touted.
After wrapping up their dismal season, the team promised ticket prices would drop by an average of 10 percent. But when season-ticket holders received their bills this week for 2010, many were incensed to discover the price cut was as little as a 1 percent.
Thomas Cooney said his seats in the Promenade Reserve Infield, which in 2009 were $4,050 for two seats, are now $3,955 for 2010 — a drop of 2 percent. “Wow, what a discount,” he grumbled.
Mets spokesman David Howard said, “It’s very consistent with what we said in the beginning. Obviously, the ‘average’ means there is some higher and some lower, but the average is 10 percent. We haven’t heard outrage about this.”
How precisely would Howard measure “outrage”? Calls to the club last spring to address Howard’s shameful practice of peddling obstructed view seats for premium prices were either unreturned or met with smug replies along the lines of “tough fucking luck”. If some ticket holders are seeing a reduction of only 1 or 2 percent, it would stand to reason others are seeing a pretty substantial discount in order to achieve this alleged 10% average. Tellingly, Howard didn’t elaborate to Hubbach. One of Faith & Fear In Flushing’s more (ahem) outraged readers commented, “this ‘price cut’ is only the latest in an endless series of symbolic gestures by Mets ownership to the Mets fanbase”, though this aggrieved party obviously cares little for the fiscal challenges facing Howard in the months ahead. For starters, how the fuck are they gonna get rid of these jerseys now that J.J. Putz’ winning personality isn’t around to flog ‘em?
3 University of Tennessee recruits of Lane Kiffin — WR Nu’Keese Richardson (above, left), safety Janzen Jackson and DB Mike Edwards — were charged with attempted robbery of a Knoxville convenience store earlier today. Calling the alleged incident, “one of the dumbest crimes in the history of UT football’s criminal activities”, the Tennessean’s Mike Jones urges Kiffin to make an example of the trio, serving as judge and jury while insisting the felonious act was “perpetrated by three freshman football players.”
The skill-level of the players enhances Kiffin’s opportunity. He wouldn’t be cutting loose borderline players who might never make a meaningful contribution to UT football. He would be booting three promising players — including, in Jackson, a starter and potential freshman All-American.
But it’s not a hard choice. This wasn’t a drunk player fallen asleep at a McDonald’s drive-thru. It wasn’t an “error in judgment.” It wasn’t “hanging out with the wrong crowd.”
It was a premeditated crime. With a gun.
They didn’t just break the law. They broke a trust with their teammates and coaches.
The rest of the team didn’t deserve this. I feel sorry for them, rather than the knuckleheads who couldn’t resist the temptation of hitting up convenience-store patrons for spare change.
I’m only guessing the victims had spare change since the police report states their wallets were empty.
The three stooges really cased the joint, didn’t they? Based on all the thought that went into the crime, guess they didn’t know Pilot is owned by Jim Haslam, one of the university’s and football program’s greatest supporters. That’s “Haslam” as in Haslam Field, where the team practices daily.
Unwittingly, Jones might’ve done Richardson, Edwards and Jackson a huge favor. Assuming anyone still reads the newspaper, lawyers for the students ought to argue they can no longer expect a fair trial locally.
Congrats to whoever created the above clip ; truly something Mike Francesa and Phil Mushnick will find equally distasteful, albeit for different reasons (video link courtesy Hot Foot)
“There is going to be a wide range of what people are hoping to hear. For me personally, we’re not there yet as far as what it’s going to look like,” Mozeliak said about an eventual press conference. ”Hopefully in the next week or so we can work through that.”
McGwire did not attend a Busch Stadium press conference to announce La Russa’s one-year contract extension and his own hiring. McGwire’s phone number is also omitted from a winter phone list distributed to club personnel.
Mozeliak has not approached McGwire about himself available to media but hopes to with La Russa’s cooperation. There is a desire among some in the organization to make McGwire available before the holidays in order to defuse an otherwise persistent issue.
“I think it does matter” that McGwire make himself available, Mozeliak said. ”I just don’t want to paint myself in the corner today on this topic. There are still some things I’m trying to learn and to understand.”
Mozeliak’s comments come a couple of days after the Columbia Daily Tribune’s John Clark eviscerated McGwire, not only calling the Bunyanesque Fraud 1B an inadequate Hall Of Fame candidate, but also suggesting Big Mac is equally unfit to be a hitting coach (”in 16 years, a batting average of .263, including three years at .235 or below, (.201 in 1991 in 154 games, and only once breaking .300″).
“On Draft Day 2007. I couldn’t have been more certain if the late Wilt Chamberlain had called from his water bed in the sky to tell me Joakim Noah was a 6-foot-11 fraud.” So writes the Chicago Tribune’s Rick Morrissey, recalling a June 29, 2007 column in which he predicted bust-status for the two time National Champion and the 9th overall pick in the ‘07 NBA Draft. With Noah currently averaging a double double in his third Association campaign, Morrissey made good yesterday on his vow to “drizzle salsa on the column and eat it.”
“It tasted like a crow enchilada,” boasted Morrissey, proving, if nothing else, that Sam Smith got out of print journalism just in time. (thanks to Tim Midgett for the link)
It’s ridiculous to blame Drew (Margery) for “not vetting” this story as thoroughly as possible given that he’s doing a series that’s built on first-hand accounts about supposedly asshole coaches. Drew came to me with this story and suggested this one was unique enough to stand on its own outside of the series. I agreed. It was amusing and given Murphy’s reputation as a hot-head and the other details of the event that were clearly true, it seemed completely plausible.
Obviously, that was wrong. When you run one-sided versions of stories, which we often do here, the goal is just that — to show one person’s side. That’s it. It’s been my experience, more often than not, that putting these first-person accounts on items reveal a larger truth or open the door to finding out the bigger story. This is how we’ve successfully done many things on this site over the years from “You’re With Me Leather” to Josh Hamilton.
“Unlike other traditional publications, ” continues Daulerio, “I think we draw a lot more attention to our mistakes than just a 10 word correction buried on page A12.” That’s very true, though some of the mistakes are the sort of thing that in previous eras would’ve ended writing careers rather than jump starting them. And, to be fair, Deadspin is not alone in providing a vehicle for axe grinders, though I’m personally not down with the anonymity.
“Etan Thomas should keep his mind on basketball,” argues one not on whether he agrees with what other players or owners are doing with their lives.” So opined Oklahoman reader “Benny Smith” upon learning the Thunder center has taken his political activism to Hoops Hype, with a debut blog appearing Monday. Here’s a couple of the highlights, just in case no one has forwarded the column to Brendan HaywoodTom Knott.
Why does the NBA, an almost 80 percent African-American league, constantly uses terms that reference slavery? Why are the CEO’s of the teams called owners? Why do they use the term “property” of a certain team when referring to a player’s employment? Why is the term trading block utilized? Why all the references to slavery, and why hasn’t anyone up until this point objected to this?
Would it be possible for the NBA to instill a rule for which reporters covering the league would be fined if they misreport, contort facts or simply write blatant lies? Are the fans not deserving of accurate, factual reporting, instead of articles laced with anonymous sources, embellishments and overall inaccuracies?
Has the dress code instilled a while ago made fans feel more connected, safer, more comfortable and whatever else the goal of implementing that rule was?
Can any doctor state to a medical certainty that injecting yourself with the swine flu/H1N1 vaccine will have no ill effects, repercussions or reactions in the near or distant future? Is there enough data on this vaccine for team doctors to attempt to force, no, strongly suggest that players take this?
While on the subject of team trainers and doctors, is it possible to impose a fine or forced firing when a team trainer or doctor consistently misdiagnoses numerous players? Not to call out any names but certain teams (not here with the Oklahoma City Thunder) employ trainers and doctors who regularly make medical mishaps (if that’s a politically correct way of saying it).
“The Memphis football program is an utterly indistinguished, barely mediocre program that lives off SEC rejects and has no hope of improving unless the university makes radical changes,” writes the Commercial-Appeal’s Geoff Calkins, quoting himself after head coach Tommy Smith’s exit interview (above) left few bridges (fans, press, adminstration) unburned.
West said exactly what needed to be said. He said exactly what the Memphis administration — especially president Shirley Raines and athletic director R.C. Johnson — try their best not to hear.
“History will continue to repeat itself, folks, if they don’t do something about it,” he said. “Whoever they hire, they’ll hire a good guy, OK? And I’ll pull for him. But our fans have got to demand — you have to do one of two things. You have to demand that you give him an equal stick to fight with within our conference. You gotta give him a level playing field to fight. Give him that!”
By the end of his remarks, West’s voice was shaking. The assembled media members watched, stunned.
Johnson didn’t say he had a plan to transform facilities. He didn’t say he understood Memphis would have to be much more aggressive in the coming years.
He said, “I think this is a good situation.”
Er, why?
“I just think being in a populated area gives us a head start on some people,” he said.
Riiight. Because big cities are known for their college football teams.
Taking an entirely different approach than Mike Silva, Maury Brown has been monitoring Roger Clemens’ folksy words of wisdom via Twitter, and unlike the gentleman from NY Baseball Digest, actually engaged the Rocket (above, right) in something approaching a philosophical debate.
Clemens was asked, “What is the best advice that you ever got?” Here’s the answer:
Well…a down right to the point one came from my mother- “Never get in a pissin’ contest with a skunk” Mine would be “love and work hard at what you do” and Give time to others. Understand sometimes you will fail, pick yourself up and go at it again! One that always hit home and says it all came from our grandmother…”if your a ditch digger, be the best ditch digger you can be!”
OK, ignore the misspellings (I now have a better understanding of his use of “misremembered” now)… thinking of how Clemens might view McNamee, I saw what mother said, and latched onto it.
“I think you should have listened to mom. Certainly, not listened to Rusty. Get in front of it, like the others.”
“Getting in front of it” is a reference to the likes of Pettitte and Jason Giambi who realized that if they admitted – even vaguely – to using PEDs, the public (and more importantly, Congress) will get off your back and eventually move on. Look at Pettitte. His hGH use was barely mentioned during the World Series.
To which Clemens helpfully responds, “said from the begining, ‘how do you prove a negitive’ (sic). not much to do about wallet-chasers”
I’ve lived in Texas for more than 5 years (admittedly, in the cosmopolitan state capital) and have yet to hear anyone referred to as a wallet-chaser. I’m not quite sure what a wallet-chaser is, but I’ve been a wallet misplacer on more than one occasion.
Because there will be some level of competition. The Giants badly want to add Bay or Holliday, and the Mariners, Angels and Orioles have some money to add corner bats, as well.
And if the Mets do not get a big bat in free agency, their early read is that players such as Prince Fielder, Adrian Gonzalez and Derek Lee either will be beyond their ability to acquire or not available.
So that could push the Mets to that other side in the internal conflict in which they try to use their dollars to dominate the second-tier free-agent pool. That would put players such as Barajas, Adam LaRoche, Jermaine Dye and Randy Wolf into play.
That would cost about $30 million in total for next season, and enable the Mets to have Murphy and Angel Pagan for backup depth, all while not touching a fragile farm system.
While the Cubs’ hopes of sending Milton Bradley to Toronto have been noted previously, Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal today claims such a move, however unlikely, would involve Luis Castillo going to Wrigley and underachieving 1B Lyle Overbay becoming a member of the New York Mets.
The three-team possibility, according to one source, has “some legs, but not much.” The Jays are opposed to the deal, one source says — perhaps because new GM Alex Anthopolous does not want a trade for Bradley to be his first major move.
Still, the mere discussion of Bradley, Castillo and Overbay between the clubs offers insight into each team’s thinking.
Castillo, who has two years left on his contract at $6 million per season, would add speed and on-base skills to the top of the Cubs’ lineup, but is not an ideal fit. The Cubs eventually want to move Ryan Theriot to second to make room for top shortstop prospect Starlin Castro.
The Mets are in the same position they were a year ago — eager to trade Castillo and sign free-agent second baseman Orlando Hudson. The additions of both Hudson and Overbay would revamp the right side of their infield, and Overbay’s line-drive stroke would play well at spacious Citi Field.
MLB Trade Rumors’ Howard Megdal notes, “Overbay has also mashed righties for his entire career – .847 OPS career, .905 in 2009 – and could be paired with Daniel Murphy or Nick Evans for a high-reward platoon.” Presumably, Rosenthal looks at Overbay’s 35 doubles in 2009 and sees a good fit at the ballpark where the entire team seems to have warning track power (and just that much). I see a 32 year old slowpoke who will earn $8 million as a part time player.
Which is a not very nice way of saying, that amount of money might we worth it to deny Daniel Murphy an additional 80 games playing first base.
“I’m disgusted with the quality of Don Nelson’s coaching and with the lack of trust his players have in him,” howled Mark Stevens, agent for deposed Warriors captain Steven Jackson in what sounds like a doozy of a phone call to ESPN.com’s Chris Broussard last night. “Nelson is the winningest coach in NBA history to never have coached in the NBA Finals, let alone won a championship,” continued Stevens, “yet he keeps getting jobs despite being 69 years old.” Believe it not, that’s the mild stuff from Stevens, who holds Nelson accountable for career atrocities including, but not limited to, allowing Baron Davis to leave Oakland, fucking over Mark Cuban and aiming a racial slur at Wayne Embry. Hey, he forgot pissing off Patrick Ewing!Golden State Of Mind’s Atma Brother One took in Broussard’s column and asks Jackson’s representative, “do you realize Nellie ressurected your client’s career and took it to new heights when practically NO ONE in the league wanted anything to do with him?”
5 Questions for the “Captain’s” Agent
1. Did it ever hit you and your client that each and every inane public outburst you guys make just makes decreases the chances some other GM and head coach are willing to foolishly trade for Jackson and the remaining 3 years on his contract (thank you Robert Rowell)?
2. Do you charge your clients extra for unfathomably making it even harder for home fans to root for them?
3. Do you seriously want to bring up “credibility and character” when your client is none other than “Captain” Jack?
4. Do you really think it’s classy or the least bit wise to talk trash about your client’s head coach through the media when he’s still playing for him?
5. Who are you again?
If Alan Iverson can’t start ahead of Mike Conley, would he get more minutes than Chris Duhon in New York? Newsday’s Alan Hahn calls a mooted (by him, anyway) Knicks approach towards the iconic, yet embattled point guard “the equivalent of the franchise selling its soul”, while in the following breath, promising, “at least Iverson still has some go-to caliber game and star cachet among fans.” Hey, if Isiah Thomas was still running the show, I bet this deal would already be done.
It could be an ideal situation for both parties. Iverson wants to go to a team that will allow him to dominate the ball, score and, of course, start. D’Antoni’s system will put Iverson in several pick-and-roll situations with plenty of shooters to kick to on the perimeter. No one will ever demand he play great defense and, of course, produce anything more than merely a playoff berth.
But you can understand the hesitation within the Knicks’ hierarchy, especially after they just cleared the locker room of the Marbury megalomania. Perhaps Iverson would be too much, too soon. If so, then perhaps the Knicks should keep close tabs on yet another of the fading divas, Tracy McGrady. It is believed that the Rockets, once McGrady is ready to return from his knee injury (perhaps by December) would be open to soliciting offers for his $23.2-million expiring contract.
D’Antoni’s system can’t survive without a capable point guard and so far this season, confidence in Chris Duhon has been ripped out by the root. Duhon’s game against the Bucks on Saturday was so alarmingly poor, at one point D’Antoni had to yank him off the court early in the third quarter when Duhon blew two defensive assignments. All Duhon could offer was that he didn’t make an effort on effort plays. In hockey, that’s enough to get the “C” ripped right off your chest.
Utah make their annual visit to the Garden tonight, a circumstance that has the Daily News’ Frank Isola reminding us the Jazz possess the Knicks’ 2010 first round draft pick, a selection previously obtain by Phoenix as part of the Stephon Marbury trade. Said doomed deal (in Isola’s words, anyway) sounds awfully familiar to what Hahn is proposing (”the Knicks were desperate to give the Garden some life so Isiah jumped the gun for a short term gain”) while Isola also cites former GM Scott Layden as part of his list of persons (ie. Anucha Browne-Sanders, Mike D’Antoni) who benefited in some way from the ill-advised swap.
Layden was working on a Marbury deal in the weeks before he was canned. Isiah swooped in and sweetened the deal for Phoenix with a couple of first round picks, one of which eventually was traded to Utah where Layden now works.
Come to think of it, maybe Layden was working as a double agent the entire time.
Suffice to say the following item from Sunday’s News Of The World takes just a bit of the shine off Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat of Manchester United. Is it fair to say Chelsea centre back / England international John Terry (above) might be the only prominent athlete who looks at Joba Chamberlain’s mom and feels just a bit jealous?
As he handed over three wraps of coke in the toilet of an Essex wine bar, Ted Terry trousered £40 profit and told us: “The stuff’s all right. I get off on it.”
Ted heaped SHAME on the England captain by fixing a secret drug deal – then asked an undercover News of the World investigator not to mention his famous son.
After selling three grams of cocaine to our man, who pretended to be buying for his wealthy boss, Ted insisted:
“This is just between me and you. DON’T tell him that I’m John Terry’s dad. I can’t have this going back, I’m not saying that they’ll say anything, but you never know.
“You CAN’T tell them I’m John Terry’s dad. I’ve just got them a load of gear.”
While I’ll presume John Riggins’ next Billy Jack-meets-The Unabomber You Tube video is still in production, Washington’s 31-17 loss to Atlanta was especially notable for the healing hands of Falcons coach Mike Smith coming somewhere near the pretty features of his former player / current Redskin DeAngelo Hall. Postgame, Hall promised reporters (including the Fredricksburg Times’ Rich Campbell), “I’m going to be giving Commissioner Goodell a call.”
Q: What did you see?
“It’s different when a coach comes over there to break guys up. When a coach comes over there to put his hands on you in a harmful way, something needs to be done about that. And like I said, I’m going to call Commissioner Goodell. Ray Anderson used to be with Atlanta. I know him very well from there. He’s the vice president [of football operations] over there in the league office. I’ll definitely going to be calling some of my friends to figure out what we can do about the situation.”
Q: Just to be clear, you’re saying Mike Smith put his hands on you in a harmful way?
“Oh yeah. He put his hands on me in a harmful way, talking about how he’s going to kick my [butt] and all this other [stuff], and that ain’t how you do things. It’s a different story if he’s coming in there to break a fight up. Him and [Falcons director of athletic performance] Jeff Fish, the strength and conditioning coach. It’s a different thing when you come in and try to break things up, as opposed to coming in and trying to put your hands on somebody. Fish had the nerve to signal to me on the sideline how strong he is (Hall imitates Fish by flexing his biceps and pointing to it). Because he was putting his hands on me, pushing me, you know what I mean? Pushing and grabbing at me and all this other [stuff]. Like I said, something is going to be done about it. Trust me. Trust me. Trust me.”
Ever wonder where the city of New York obtains mountains of confetti for what used to be called ticker tape parades to honor sporting champions, astronauts or Chain Gang’s election to the Rock’n'Roll Hall Of Fame? Me neither, but the New York Post’s Chuck Bennett and Salim Algar report Friday’s celebrations for the newly crowned Yankees included sensitive personal information landing on lower Manhattan sidewalks.
“We’re finding pay stubs. We’re finding personal financial information. We found a balance sheet of someone’s trust fund showing $300,000 in stock,” said Damian Salo, 29, an internal auditor attending the parade with friends.
“It’s terrible. Here’s the VP of a financial-services company; he makes over $200,000,” he added, holding a pay stub.
Some of the documents came from the Liberty Street financial firm A.L. Sarroff, including their client accounts, with Social Security numbers and detailed banking data.
“They’re records that should have been shredded,” said firm founder Alan Sarroff. “An overzealous employee threw them out the window. He was reprimanded.”
(Iverson, shown in happier days, before learning Guitar Center has a strict, “you brandish it, you bought it” policy)
While I’m very pleased to welcome Clint and Jimmy Conley to Austin later today, I am hopeful the topic of their younger brother, Grizzlies G Mike, doesn’t come up. I hate to give this wonderful family a hard time, but I have great difficulty understanding how Mike can start for Memphis in place of Allen Iverson, even if the latter isn’t all the way back from a preseason hamstring injury. No prizes, by the way, who had an even tougher time coming to grips with 6th man status, but suffice to say, those Iverson jerseys the Grizzlies were eager to sell shall now be heavily discounted. From the Memphis Commercial-Appeal’s Roland Tillery :
The disgruntled Iverson left the Grizzlies on Saturday after he asked for and was granted an indefinite leave of absence to deal with a personal matter, the team confirmed before its game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Instead of traveling to Staples Center, Iverson boarded a flight to Atlanta in the afternoon. Atlanta is where Iverson lives during the offseason.
Griz owner Michael Heisley vehemently insisted that Iverson needed time off to handle an important family issue. A timetable for Iverson’s return is unknown.
The veteran guard did not ask for a trade or request to be waived. Heisley said the team knew about Iverson’s issue before signing him to a one-year, $3.1 million contract in September.
“I’m not going to get into the personal reason but it has nothing to do with the other stuff,” Heisley said, referring to Iverson’s public displeasure over his reserve role. “I’m the guy who said he could go. It’s a real family issue that I don’t think should be reported.”
Let’s say for instance, that Iverson isn’t going on strike and there’s a legit family/emergency tragedy here. Doesn’t it benefit both the player and the team to come up with something slightly more detailed given the additional dent to Iverson’s reputation, let alone his plummeting trade value? ESPN’s Chad Ford claims there’s zero interest around the Association in taking on Iverson.
“I can’t imagine anyone wanting him at this point,” one GM said. “Struggling teams now know he’s going to be a distraction. Contending teams have to live with the fact that Iverson puts himself above the team. Even the Clippers backed away from him this summer and Donald Sterling will do anything to sell tickets. I’m still not sure what the Grizzlies were thinking.”
No one is, especially in light of recent revelations that neither GM Chris Wallace nor Hollins addressed Iverson’s role as a starter or bench player before signing him.
“That is, in a word, amazing,” one NBA executive who explored signing Iverson this summer said. “The guy has a documented history of resisting coming off the bench. The Grizzlies had a young starting backcourt of Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo. No one thought to explore it?”
TNT went flufftastic on the Lakers F Thursday night, and following clips of Artest hanging out in a recording studio, the TMZ offices and explaining his haircut, Charles Barkley suggested that perhaps the Aubernica brawler would be better served concentrating on hoops. Hours later, Artest took the fight to (where else) Twitter, as the Riverside Press-Enterprise’s Jeff Eisenberg recounts.
“He tried to turn the whole story around,” Artest said. “TNT was trying to make me look good, but Charles was trying to make me look bad. They were pointing out a lot of good things I was doing, and Charles totally took my spotlight. He could have picked another time to do that.”
An incensed Artest spoke directly to his fans via twitter on Friday, noting that he’s one of the last players to leave the practice court every day, that he doesn’t shoot commercials during the playoffs like other guys and that he nearly led the shorthanded Rockets to the NBA Finals last year.
He also referenced Barkley’s DUI arrest from last year, adding “What’s worse; rapping or driving drunk?”
Asked whether he thought it might have been more prudent to let Barkley’s latest comments pass without response, Artest said, “I think it’s important for me to speak because he took my shine away.”
I realize nobody asked me, but in some instances, rapping IS worse than driving drunk. Depending on how you feel about auto-tune.
No, not attending two junior proms in one night. Rather, former Mets backstop / scourge of the Long Island H.S. dating circuit Paul Lo Duca is back in the public eye, prepping for a handicapping analyst gig. From the LA Daily News’ Tom Hoffarth who kids, “Who better to know about horses than a guy who dug horsehide out of the dirt for the past 10-plus major-league seasons?” I dunno, Pete Rose?
“I’m really trying to give people a handicapper’s view, because, let’s be frank, most people are watching the shows to make money and I’m trying to give them value and find the angles,” said Lo Duca, a prominent voice on TVG’s Breeders’ Cup preview shows Thursday and today.
One of the most prominent baseball players involved in the horse game, Lo Duca has been in ownership groups since 2002 when he was with the Dodgers. The first horse he bought, The Weej, was named after his father – a nickname given to him by family members because he resembled the Mario Bros. video game character Luigi.
“I’ve had a lot of people come up to me say, `You’re good, we like watching you,’ so that’s really cool,” said Lo Duca, who split limited playing time with Washington and Florida in 2008 and is living these days on Long Island with his new bride. “It’s really a different dynamic. Then, you’re playing baseball. The fans may not like you but they’ll say hi. Here at TVG, it’s really a status thing.
“I’m a comfort-level guy, and if I’m out of my element, I get into panic mode. But face it – I’m a gambler and I know the horses. I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t have knowledge. The sport is fascinating, and there’s so many similarities with the competition. It’s neat to do this. Every time I go to the track, it doesn’t feel like I’m working.”
Granted, this couldn’t have been the part of Friday’s assignment Michael Kay relished most. But either way, he’s absolutely flunked his audition for Hot 97.
A few days ago, ESPN’s Rob Neyer linked to a CSTB item, and if you don’t think I was thrilled at such acknowledgment, you’ve no idea how easily impressed I am. But that was just a tiny hyperlink. Imagine, if you will, the reactions of Pro Football Talk’s Michael Florio and Michael David Smith, upon seeing an item from the former provide such inspiration for the internet’s most widely read sports outlet. It’s got to be a dream come true!
As part of their 15th Anniversary celebrations, the Toronto Raptors honored former PF Charles Oakley Wednesday night, an occasion that has me checking the schedule to see when Doug Christie’s number is being retired. The Globe & Mail’s Michael Grange used the opportunity to recall a time when the legendary clotheshorse/gourmand/Michael Jordan wingman wasn’t welcomed with open arms north of the border.
Seems Oak wasn’t very happy about coming to Canada. The Raptors were the NBA’s version of Siberia and coming off that epic 16-66 season, he was probably right. As the exiled toast of New York, Oak was sincerely grumpy when he pulled up to the border crossing on his way to training camp, driving up from his home in Cleveland. He’s rolling in a black BMW with tinted windows, stuffed to the gills with whatever belongings he might need to make the Royal York Hotel feel like home away from home.
The border guards are curious maybe even suspicious and Oak gets questioned. He tells them he’s on his way to play for the Raptors, but that doesn’t quite cut it. They want to see his work papers and documentation etc., but Oak doesn’t have it. They search the BMW. Tens of thousands of dollars of suits only Oak and the Ohio Players could wear are being rifled through, and who knows what else.
He’s mad. He calls his agent. “This is bull***, call (then Raptors GM) Glen Grunwald, F*** this! I’m not coming up there, I’m turning around right now.”
Diamond calls Grunwald, who in turn gets pumping on trying to find out how to get a very angry, very big, power forward admitted to Canada. On a Sunday.
The story doesn’t quite end there, but in the interests of protecting Canada’s newspaper industry, I suggest you check out the rest of it yourself.
If you’re wondering what could possibly cause women’s collegiate soccer highlights to receive more airtime on the overnight “SportsCenter” than the MLS playofs, consider the unique approach of New Mexico defender Elizabeth Lambert, who might well become the female equivalent of LeGarrette Blount by noon Friday. You can add my voice to the chorus calling for a suspension —- preferably of the blind person employed by the Mountain West Conference to referee this match.
Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum has a few more days remaining in his NL Cy Young reign, time he’s likely to spend lying low after today’s revelation he was charged with speeding and marijuana possession last week in Clark County, WA. Finally, a Bay Area icon is busted for PED’s (and if you don’t think enjoyment of Lincecum’s performances is positively enhanced by weed, would you at least believe AT&T Park’s garlic fries are just a bit tastier?) and the SF Chronicle’s Ray Ratto — no stranger to daring behavior (you’ve seen his haircut, right?) cannot hide his disgust. “High and speeding at 8 in the morning? Is life that grippingly dull in the offseason? Or are you just nuts?”
That’s the hard part to reconcile. Eight a.m. is just too early in the day to spark up, and speeding on the freeway at 8 a.m. even if you’re straight as a javelin is just asking to get caught. I mean, who else is on the road that early other than truckers? Doing both, therefore, is pretty well inexcusable.
The lessons Lincecum will earn from this, his first official brush with the law as someone whose every move is monitored, are clear. He’ll have to do all the P.R. mea culpas, but the first ought to be about vehicular safety. You can draw your personal line of outrage anywhere you want here, but it’s the driving part that is clearly the most disturbing judgmental lapse of all. That’s where the apology-fest should start, and he can take it wherever he wants (or is told to by the Giants) after that.
Whether or not 8am is too early to be high is entirely a matter of opinion. I mean, perhaps Lincecum had been up since 5. But on the topic of his driving whilst baked, the SF hurler has undoubtedly been defamed by the veteran columnist. The Chronicle’s own source for the story quotes a Washington State trooper describing Linceum as “not appearing impaired.”
I’ve listened to radio announcers across this great land for years on the satellite and, with the exception of Scully and maybe Joe Castiglione, none of them can hold a candle to Sterling and Waldman. Despite Waldman’s one emotionally-challenged Roger Clemens moment and Sterling’s affinity for quoting lyrics from 1940’s Broadway musicals, there is no greater pair on the radio today.
(above : the sharpest media manipulator money can buy…in the state of Idaho)
OK, that’s not actually what the Western Athletic Conference is advocating. I think. But ESPN’s Graham Watson reports the WAC has enlisted the services of Boise-based PR firm Scott Peyron & Associates to assist their efforts in promoting no. 7 Boise State as a legit national title contender.
The role of Scott Peyron & Associates is to keep Boise State in the forefront of the minds of the media. It does not lobby voters or coaches. It does email a weekly list of talking points regarding Boise State’s accomplishments to members of the national media. It also sets up interviews for WAC commissioner Karl Benson and prepares statistical information for him to use to make a case for the Broncos.
“We’ve found that people just want to go back to the Fiesta Bowl win in 2007 and talk about that being a fluke and haven’t really done their research in terms of [Boise State's] home game winning percentage or other interesting facts over the years,” said Doug Cole, a group practice leader with the firm.
“They’ll forget about the Hawaii records and all that. So, we just constantly remind people of the storied recent history of the WAC and Boise State and get them to consider that when they write their stories.”
“We made sure to let the national press know that (TCU’s win) against the 16th ranked BYU, which is now unranked, is not as strong as Boise State’s signature win against No. 16 (AP) Oregon, which is now ranked eighth,” Cole said. “Those are the types of things that dictate what our positioning is in terms of reminding media and getting stats in front of [the media] just so they can be honest and not ignore Boise State.”
Peyron and Associates other clients include the Idaho Technology Council, the Tamarack Ski Resort, Albertson’s Supermarkets and that annual moment where thousands of Americans wonder if their TV sets need replacing, the Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl.
