In a development almost as terrifying as Rupert Murdoch’s brief ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the venerable Dodger Dog is now under the stewardship of the Hormel Corporation.
(bad news for everyone)
Though a company spokesperson claims that Hormel “will in no way change any recipe or the grilling and the whole nine yards up at Dodger Stadium”, I’m not about to find out firsthand, and you shouldn’t either.
Says Sam Frank, “insert Randy Johnson joke, here”. From The New York Times’ Andrew Jacobs.
In a quiet revolution sweeping the blue-collar precincts of metropolitan New York, mechanics, firemen and construction workers – most of them insistently heterosexual – are unapologetically doting on their eyebrows. Inspired by “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” and the well-coiffed rap artists on BET, cowed by tweezers-wielding girlfriends and goaded by wisecracking co-workers, they are plucking and waxing as never before. And they don’t lie about it.
“Eyebrows were the last frontier,” said Louis DeJesus, a hair stylist whose Bronx salon, International Nails and Beauty, started seeing an influx of men about two years ago. “Everyone’s doing it now. And once a guy starts doing it, he gets addicted.”
From the immigrant enclaves of Queens to the minimalls of Long Island, modest salons that once catered to women find themselves inundated by primping, preening men, most of them young working-class guys who tend to spend their weekends at dance clubs. Even the Gotti brothers, the ones with their own reality television show, have embraced a minimalist approach to facial hair.
Carol Cedeno, a manicurist at Tom’s Scissorhands, a salon in Paterson, N.J., has seen the trend. “A lot of the guys used to be embarrassed, but now they just walk in and say it proudly: ‘I want my eyebrows done,’ ” she said, noting that her salon offers a wax job for $5. “Sometimes their eyebrows end up looking more dainty than their girlfriends’.”
When he first started tweezing last year, Al Bernal, a 31-year-old auto mechanic from Newark, said his friends called his sexuality into question. “They said I looked, you know, gay,” said Mr. Bernal, whose style is maintained by his fiancée. “Of course, these days they do it, too, and they love it because they get a lot more attention from chicks.”
(hard to believe this guy isn’t getting any action)
In the wake of his attempt to rearrange the face of LeBron James the other night, let us reflect on the long and storied career of Dikembe Mutumbo.
While not quite “The People’s Elbow”, Houston’s Mutumbo has dished out punishment to multiple generations of NBA stars, as ESPN’s research deparment helpfully reports :
April 20, 2004: Kenyon Martin, hit in the eye and retaliated by clubbing Mutombo across the arm. Received a technical foul
March 31, 2003: Yao Ming, hit in the throat. Mutombo assessed flagrant foul
Feb. 4, 2002: Vince Carter, hit in the gut
May 16, 2001: Vince Carter, hit in the head. Carter did not return to Game 6 of the Eastern Conference playoffs
May 6, 2001: Chris Childs, broken nose
Feb. 26, 2001: Ray Allen, broken nose
Jan. 13, 2001: Corey Maggette, eye trauma
Dec. 28, 2000: Chauncey Billups, hit in the mouth, four stitches, fractured front tooth
Feb. 6, 1999: Jayson Williams, broken nose
May 4, 1999: Mark Strickland, broken nose
May 8, 1999: Lindsey Hunter, left eye
May 8, 1999: Christian Laettner, cut on face
April 9, 1999: Chris Childs, lost a tooth; Marcus Camby, shot to throat; Larry Johnson, hit in the head; Patrick Ewing, hit in the head
March 4, 1999: Kevin Willis, injured shoulder. Missed several games
May 6, 1997: Dennis Rodman, retaliated and ejected with second technical foul
April 12, 1997: Tom Gugliotta, broken nose
Jan. 30, 1997: Antoine Carr, knocked senseless
Jan. 4, 1997: Charles Oakley, four stitches to the lip
Oct. 22, 1996: Michael Jordan, bloodied nose (preseason game)
April 10, 1994: Robert Horry, hit in the head, fell to the floor
Dec. 30, 1993: Chris Webber; Mutombo later ejected for taunting Chris Gatling
Dec. 28, 1991: Robert Parish, hit the floor
Nov. 29, 1991: Ricky Pierce, 12 stitches in forehead
Peter Vescey is never more attractive than when he’s echoing CSTB. From Friday’s New York Post.
Imagine if George Karl had as much of an in with Nuggets’ owner E. Stanley Kroenke as widespread reports seem to indicate.
If that were true, the indubitably erudite coach with 16 seasons of experience (some of it actually good) would’ve been coaching the team last night when the sizzling Sixers came to Denver.
At least you’d think so.
There’s certainly nothing left to the imagination about Karl’s honorable intentions. He wants the job, that’s for sure, letting it be known he can walk away from his talk as an NBA TV analyst with no notice and without a hitch.
Not only did Karl deliver an immediate high, hard pitch for the Nuggets’ positon, you know, just in case interim Michael Cooper fails to qualify for a permanent promotion from assistant to the freshly terminated Jeff Bzdelik, but he’s already generously offering free advice.
The first order of business should be to unite the Nuggets, preached Karl, who left the Bucks disjointed and disorganized two summers ago after the team united against him.
Don’t misunderstand; it’s certainly not unusual for players to rebel against their coach after hearing the same old spiel for five seasons.
Still, no matter how much (or modest) of a relationship Kroenke supposedly has with Karl off the court, he has to be looking a little bit funny at a guy who becomes so negative at the end of each coaching tour. Down the stretch in Milwaukee and long afterward all we heard out of Karl is what’s wrong with today’s players, and the league, and the game.
In itself, I suggest, that should be grounds to incriminate Karl and turn off prospective employers who pay an average of $3 million or more annually to sideline gurus to get constructive leaders, not destructive ones.
Kroenke also must be thinking to himself: “If ABC doesn’t value Karl enough to make him its lead analyst over the ancient and ailing Hubie Brown why should I be excited about having him?”
As for Bzdelik’s dismissal, it caught me by surprise. Despite his lame duck status — a detrimentally transparent message players habitually pounce on and exploit — and eight losses in nine games, including six straight (five in which Carmellow Anthony did not play due to a sprained ankle), there were too many critical injuries to crucial personnel to lay the blame on the coach.
The good news is, Bzdelik received several copies of those morally-righteous Carmellow Anthony videos as lovely parting gifts.
Angels owner Artie Moreno continues to battle with the Anaheim city council and according to the LA Times’ Bill Shaikin, there are some crazy compromise solutions being suggested.
It was standing-room only in the lobby of Anaheim City Hall, with civic leaders and baseball executives gathering for a celebratory news conference. The Walt Disney Co. had agreed to buy the Angels, keep them in town for decades and pay for most of an ambitious and costly stadium renovation.
And, as city officials happily noted on that sunny afternoon in 1996, their team no longer would be known as the California Angels. The city would contribute to the renovation, and in return the team would be called the Anaheim Angels.
“After being known as California for the last 30 years, this team is now going to be called Anaheim,” Mayor Tom Daly said then. “That’s huge.”
Not so huge, however, for the city to insist upon contractual language that would force the team to call itself the Anaheim Angels or market itself using that name. The stadium lease agreement demands only that the team name “include the name Anaheim therein,” providing Angel owner Arte Moreno with a potential loophole to exploit should he decide to call his team the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
“There’s no question the city could have written a lease provision that would have given the team no wiggle room. This provision does give the team some wiggle room,” said Robert Jarvis, professor of law at Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and co-author of a sports law textbook.
The City Council has voted to sue if Moreno implements a name change, arguing he would breach the lease. City officials have spurned a change to the Los Angeles Angels and dismissed as ludicrous a compromise proposal: the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
No matter how geographically nonsensical that compromise might appear, Moreno could argue it satisfies the requirement that the team name “include the name Anaheim therein.” According to several contract law professors interviewed by The Times, the city would have a reasonable — but not airtight — legal case and should thus consider a negotiated solution to a dispute that city officials vow will not be negotiated.
“Imagine the city fathers and mothers trying to explain how they wrote a contract that allowed the team to be called the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim,” Jarvis said. “And, from the team’s point of view, you wouldn’t want the P.R. nightmare of saying we want to be called X but we have to be called Y. It would be a terrible fiasco for the Angels.
“This is not something for which there is a black-and-white answer. As a result, I have no doubt the parties would reach a compromise. Neither one will want to go to court and lose.”
Yet the city might sue even if Moreno does not change the team name. By selling his team simply as the Angels — and removing the city name from uniforms, tickets, merchandise and publicity outlets — city officials contend Moreno has violated the lease. The City Council could authorize such a suit at its Jan. 11 meeting.
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The current barrage of college bowls has left this correspondent a little dizzy. When Martha Reeves sang “don’t forget the Motor City”, she probably wasn’t talking about the Motor City Bowl. Though I did forget that Connecticut had a Division 1-A football program, what with the state’s rich history in the sport (Brian “B.D.” Dowling, Giants home games at Yale, exciting touch football games with the extended Bunnybrains clan + Peter Lawford).
If the Rose Bowl is “The Grandaddy Of Them All”, can the Continental Tire Bowl be described as Your Very Unattractive Cousin?
All of that said, I’ve seen few moments in a Garbage Bowl as worth of an out-loud “what the fuck”, as BC kicker Ryan Ohliger turning a fake FG into a 21 yard TD run against North Carolina, just moments after Eagles QB Paul Peterson was hauled off the field with a broken leg. Ohliger — alll 5′ 9″ of him — snuck through the Carolina D like he was running for his life. Which he might’ve been. After BC pissed away something like $13 million in BCS money with their collapse against Syracuse, this was a nice way to finish.
In consideration of the United States pledging $35 million in aid to those stricken by the recent tsunami in Indonesia (roughly a fifth of the Iraq war’s costs per day), you might want to pass some of your holiday gelt in the direction of Oxfam International
Though Oxfam have a reputation for fiscal responsibility, sadly, not one penny of your donation will ensure additional news coverage on the condition of supermodel Petra Nemcova, injured in a tidal wave last weekend.
Stuck in la liga’s 5th place despite a superstar lineup (and Steinbrenner-esque payroll) Real Madrid have tapped former Brazil national manager Wanderley Luxemburgo to become Los Galacticos’ 3rd manager of the season. Jose Antonio Camacho was sacked three weeks into the current campaign ; Manager no. 2, Mariano Garcia Remon will remain with the club in an advisory capacity.
Earlier this month, Luxemburgo lead Santos to its 2nd Brazilian club championship in 3 years. Luxemburgo has won 5 Brazilian titles on his career, two with Palmieras and one each with Corintians, Crueziro and Santos.
From the Guardian’s Dominic Fifield in Friday’s edition :
Manchester United bowed to the inevitable last night and opted against contesting the charge of violent conduct levelled by the Football Association against Wayne Rooney but not before Sir Alex Ferguson called the FA’s disciplinary procedures as “flawed” and “immoral”.
The 19-year-old will miss Premiership games against Middlesbrough and Tottenham, as well as the FA Cup tie with Exeter City, after the FA’s video panel studied footage of him pushing Bolton’s defender Tal Ben Haim in the face in United’s 2-0 win at Old Trafford on Boxing Day.
United had the option of denying the charge, though that would merely have seen an FA disciplinary commission meet this morning to discuss the issue.
The Old Trafford club would have had no representation at that hearing, with the most likely outcome being confirmation of the three-match ban regardless.
MLB.com is reporting that free agent 1B Tino Martinez has passed a physical and is expected to sign with the Yankees shortly. The League’s house organ helpfully adds,
Martinez signed a one-year deal, though exact terms were not available. He will likely share time at first base and DH with Jason Giambi. He also gives New York a viable option at first base should Giambi experience any health problems.
Or if New York can figure out a way to buy out the rest of Giambi’s deal. Martinez’ return to the Bronx should make the market for Carlos Delgado a bit clearer, if nothing else.
(not only is Tino a little old for tagging, but the “M”’s upside down)
From the Boston Herald’s Michael Silverman :
In a move that bears more than a passing resemblance to his Thanksgiving dinner wooing session of Pedro Martinez, Mets general manager Omar Minaya is poised to make his second – and even bigger – impact signing of this offseason by going after Carlos Beltran, the top prize of this entire free agent market and a name that many had already fitted for pinstripes next year.
According to a National League source familiar with the Mets’ thinking this entire offseason, the Mets are going to begin a pursuit of Beltran next week with the same intensity and style that they devoted to winning over Martinez. The Martinez pursuit culminated successfully two weeks ago when the right-hander inked a four-year, $53 million deal.
Here in Boston, that deal made a splash with ripples to be felt until the Red Sox can demonstrate that they can replace the results from the three-time Cy Young winner. In the Bronx, losing out on Martinez never turned into a big deal, since no one besides Steinbrenner ever considered hiring the hurler to be a top priority.
Beltran is another story.
Beltran will turn 28 in April, meaning his best years may very well be ahead of him. And the center fielder has already turned in a body of work that makes any red-blooded owner, general manager or casual fan drool. He is without a doubt the golden child of this free agent crop, and that is why his agent, Scott Boras, has made his boldest request yet for any of his current free agents: 10 years for $200 million, or $20 million a season.
The Astros are believed to have made the one and only bid so far, six years and $96 million, or $16 million a season. Tigers owner Mike Ilitch is itching to wire cash into Beltran’s bank account. But even though one Boras client, Pudge Rodriguez, signed in Motown last year, it is hard to imagine Beltran doing the same. All during this hot stove season, the Yankees were supposed to be biding their time before making an offer that would top the Astros and any other pretenders to the throne of major league cash dispensers.
Lately, the Yankees have been playing a cat-and-mouse game with the Diamondbacks over a trade for Randy Johnson, arguably the one player the Yankees need most. Beltran is a close second for many reasons, none greater than the reality that Steinbrenner has always enjoyed collecting the biggest prizes he sees, $25 million luxury tax bills be damned.
So far this winter, the Yankees have added the likes of Carl Pavano, Jaret Wright and Tony Womack, hardly back-page types.
Meanwhile, the Mets have been plotting the Beltran move, which should not come as the biggest surprise. Having already held trade discussions with the Cubs about Sammy Sosa and the Red Sox about Manny Ramirez this offseason, landing a marquee outfielder is high on the Mets’ to-do list. Snagging Beltran would be the ultimate accomplishment of Minaya’s already busy and productive offseason.
Emboldened by his success with Martinez, Minaya is going to employ the same face-to-face strategy with Beltran in order to pitch the perks of playing for New York’s other team.
If you can think of even ONE perk associated with playing for the Mets, please let us know. Besides the obvious ones, of course (getting to borrow Piazza’s Savatage CD’s, use of the parking space previously reserved for Donald Manes, shoeshines and backrubs from Joe McEwing, etc.)
D-Backs get the disgruntled, revenge-vowing Vazquez, two additional warm bodies and loot, Yankees get Johnson and inch ever close to the $300 million payroll.
Peter Gammons reported earlier Thursday that the on-again, off-again trade would be completed once the teams agree on the amount of money and the minor leaguers to be included in the deal. Gammons also reported that in addition to Vazquez, the deal would include catching prospect Dioneer Navarro, at least one other prospect and about $8 million going to the Diamondbacks in exchange for the 41-year-old lefty.
According to Gammons’ sources, Arizona will not immediately deal Vazquez to another team, but will continue to talk to interested teams, including Baltimore, Philadelphia, Detroit and Texas.
David Newton in The State.com, interviewing recently reinstated Indiana Pacer Jermaine O’Neal.
O’Neal said if the courts choose to reinstate his suspension he will accept that just as he did the original penalty. But he contends that all the suspensions, including Artest’s seasonlong ban, were excessive.
He said those who witnessed the incident on television saw only 20 percent of what happened. He resents that many in the media have placed the blame on players more than fans.
“They made sure they just showed us hitting people,” O’Neal said. “There’ s a reason why we were running around. There’s 15 of us, and there’s thousands of them.
“I saw a lot of people say the NBA is too hip-hoppish. What is too hip-hoppish? What does our preference of music have to do with who we are? I’m pretty sure a lot of hockey players and baseball players listen to rock ’n’ roll and heavy metal. Does that determine who they are?”
O’Neal pointed out that a Texas Rangers player threw a chair into the stands this past baseball season and broke a woman’s nose.
“It wasn’t talked about for seven weeks,” he said. “The (NBA) is 85 percent black. All of a sudden we’re under scrutiny for who we are.”
After the strangling of PJ Carlesimo, who would’ve bet on Latrell Sprewell becoming a fan favorite in NYC? The NY Daily News’ Frank Isola fantasizes about current Public Enemy No. 1, suspended Pacers F Ron Artest, ending up in a Knicks uniform.
Latrell Sprewell was rescued from NBA purgatory five years ago by the Knicks, who were willing to take a chance on a talented player with a troubled past. The risk was well worth the reward as Sprewell helped the Knicks reach one NBA Finals and two conference finals.
Next summer, the Knicks may try to take the same gamble on Ron Artest, who currently is serving a season-long suspension for his part in a brawl last month in Detroit. Sprewell sees plenty of similarities between himself and Artest and feels that New York would be an ideal place for Artest to get a second chance.
“With Ron, he would probably do well wherever he goes,” Sprewell said. “But he’d definitely fit in well here. He played here, he’s from this area and I’m sure New Yorkers would love him.
“Feeling wanted helped me. It gives you a sense that you’re welcomed. You don’t feel like everyone is against you. That was important.”
The Knicks essentially stole Sprewell from Golden State, acquiring him for John Starks, Chris Mills and Terry Cummings. Prying Artest from the Pacers will not be easy if for no other reason than president Larry Bird would probably be reluctant to trade Artest to a conference rival whose boss, Isiah Thomas, is Bird’s longtime bitter enemy.
Thomas and assistant coaches Mark Aguirre and George Glymph coached Artest in Indiana and the consensus among league officials is that Thomas will make a play for Artest.
“I don’t know why you’d get rid of him,” Sprewell said. “I don’t see Indiana trading him. I wouldn’t be looking to move him because of that incident.”
Despite his diminished skills, 2B Roberto Alomar —- a probable Hall Of Famer assuming you can erase his Mets tenure from your memory — continues to find someone willing to employ him. Albiet at a fraction of the salary he once earned.
The NY Post’s Joel Sherman is reporting that when and if the Randy Johnson/Javier Vazquez deal is completed, the Diamondbacks might attempt to trade Vazquez to Baltimore in exchange for some combination of pitchers Erik Bedard, Jorge Julio and outfielders Jay Gibbons and Luis Matos. Given Baltimore’s desperation for frontline pitching, the way they were rebuffed by all of the big name free agent hurlers and the unlikelihood that Arizona want any part of Vazquez’ contract, this seems plausible.
No further word on whether or not Sidney Ponson’s drunken escapades with and without a Jet Ski will give the Orioles just cause to void his contract, but you can bet they’ve considered it.
There’s been no small amount of bitching & moaning from this corner that the ‘04/05 Knicks are going nowhere with the erratic Stephon Marbury running the show. But on Wednesday night, against one of the Western Conference’s powerhouses and the reigning MVP, Marbury showed that when he’s at the top of his game, the Knicks resemble something far greater than a middling club. And on that note, New York moved to 3 games above .500 for the first time in 4 1/2 years.
If Kurt Thomas hadn’t harrassed KG into a 7 for 17 night, it’s doubtful the Knicks would’ve held off the Timberwolves.
No doubt mindful of the need to continue providing for his family, there were no incidents involving Father Of The Year Latrell Sprewell and Knicks owner James Dolan.
From John Markoff in Thursday’s New York Times :
The average Internet user in the United States spends three hours a day online, with much of that time devoted to work and more than half of it to communications, according to a survey conducted by a group of political scientists.
The survey found that use of the Internet has displaced television watching and a range of other activities. Internet users watch television for one hour and 42 minutes a day, compared with the national average of two hours, said Norman H. Nie, director of the Stanford Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society, a research group that has been exploring the social consequences of the Internet.
“People don’t understand that time is hydraulic,” he said, meaning that time spent on the Internet is time taken away from other activities.
A 2000 study by the researchers that reported increasing physical isolation among Internet users created a controversy and drew angry complaints from some users who insisted that time they spent online did not detract from their social relationships.
However, the researchers said they had now gathered further evidence showing that in addition to its impact on television viewing, Internet use has lowered the amount of time people spend socializing with friends and even sleeping.
According to the study, an hour of time spent using the Internet reduces face-to-face contact with friends, co-workers and family by 23.5 minutes, lowers the amount of time spent watching television by 10 minutes and shortens sleep by 8.5 minutes.
The remaining period spent using the Internet reduces time spent helping Scott Weiland violate his parole by 18 minutes a day.
Rod Kanehl, one of the original 1962 New York Mets, passed away two weeks ago at the age of 70. Kanehl, who played at every position other than pitcher and catcher during his 3 years with the Mets, had previously spent 8 years in the Yankees system.
On the same day we rejoice in Snapple’s dissing of Staten Island, let us praise the good people of Long Island. Without Long Island, we’d have no Amy Fisher, Nihilistics, Misguided, Lee Ranaldo, Phantom Tollbooth, Howard Stern, pine-cone H.S. football sodomy, Joel Rifkin, the hottest moments of Julius Erving’s career, teenage turkey tossers, reasons to chant “Beat Your Wife, Potvin”, Bill Pulsipher in a Long Island Ducks uniform, or perhaps best of all, hot dog vendors doubling as prostitutes.
On the site of the former Raynor’s Fried Chicken, no less.
Veteran stage and screen actor, Tony award winner and ‘Law And Order” fixture Jerry Orbach has succumbed to prostate cancer at the age of 69.
Orbach’s 12 year run as alcoholic Det. Lenny Briscoe on Dick Wolf’s formulaic “L&O” provided a transcendent moment or two in a dismal broadcast TV landscape.
Jay Mariotti’s radio show on the flapship station of nemesis Jerry Reinsdorf’s White Sox and Bulls lasted almost 10 months. From the Chicago Tribune’s Teddy Greenstein.
Jay Mariotti is off Chicago’s airwaves, and he says his departure from ESPN Radio’s WMVP-AM 1000 is the result of the station’s desire to curry favor with the White Sox and Bulls.
Mariotti said the station asked him to tone down his criticism of the Bulls and White Sox, whose games are broadcast on WMVP and whose contracts are close to expiring.
The station is in negotiations with the teams on a new deal.
A source said Mariotti received a written edict last month ordering him to ease up on the Bulls and Sox. Station executives followed that up with oral reminders.
Both sides finally had enough.
“We agreed that if I wouldn’t agree to their editorial conditions, then I should leave,” Mariotti said Tuesday.
“I’m not going to compromise my integrity to do favors on the air for the White Sox and the Bulls. When they ask me to treat two teams differently than the others, that’s a red flag for me, and it has been happening quite a bit over the last few months.”
Mariotti also has feuded publicly with Sox broadcaster Hawk Harrelson, Reinsdorf’s friend and adviser.
Told Tuesday that Mariotti was off the air in Chicago, Harrelson couldn’t hide his glee.
“I’m happy for the fans,” Harrelson said, “because he’s a vicious guy.
“I said he wouldn’t have that [radio] job long and I don’t think he’ll be a columnist much longer. He never lets the truth get in the way of a story. The city will be a lot better off without him.”
Apparently, the selfless act of Kurt Warner couldn’t last all the way to Week 17.
“My whole goal was to show people I could throw the football, I could lead and I could win,” Warner said. “I think I showed people I could do that. Coming in, nobody had any expectations for this football team and to be a leader of a team that was 5-2 and had the second best record in the NFC, I’m happy with that.”
Much as I love second-guessing Tom Couhglin’s decision to give Eli Manning the Giants’ starting QB job with the team still squarely in playoff contention, it’s pretty astonishing that Warner is so proud of having the second-best record in the NFC…after 7 games. I mean, he was also the leader of a team that was 5-4 and had lost 3 of its last 4 games.
The Rocky Mountain News’ Chris Tomasson is reporting that former Bucks/Sonics coach George Karl and ex-Lakers/Bulls zenmaster Phil Jackson are amongst the names in the mix for the Denver Nuggets coaching position , if and when GM Kiki Vandegwhe decides not to give the job to Michael Cooper on a permenent basis.
I can understand Jackson’s name popping up in reference to every NBA opening — unless of course Doc Rivers left the Celtics — but Karl is a mystery to me. The Tar Heel alum took a boatload of money to lead the Bucks and got nothing done, despite some serious talent that he had a hand in assembling. If Vandegwhe’s gripe with deposed coach Jeff Bzdelik is that Carmelo Anthony & crew had stopped listening, what’s on Karl’s resume that that would preclude a similar result?
Javier Vazquez, Brad Halsey, Abel Gomez and a bag of cash for Randy Johnson. Supposedly. And the 41 year old Unit gets a contract extension. How this might impact, if at all, the Yankees’ ability to outbid the Mets and Astros for Carlos Beltran, I hate to guess…only because I suspect it will make no difference whatsoever.
From the New York Daily News’ Lisa Colangelo and David Saltonstall :
Snapple, the unofficial drink of New York City, may need a lesson in good humor – not to mention good taste.
On its Web site, company officials had the gall to poke fun at Staten Island – then hurriedly pulled the punch line when contacted by the Daily News.
In explaining how to play Snapple’s “Real Facts Game,” a fill-in-the-blank question asked, “The most recognized smell in the world is —–?”
Then came the company’s insulting answer: “No, it’s not Staten Island. It’s coffee.”
City Councilman James Oddo (R-S.I.) said the putdown dredged up old stereotypes about the borough – the infamous Fresh Kills landfill closed in 2001 – and left a bitter taste in his mouth.
“This from a company allegedly teaming with New York to market the city,” said an incredulous Oddo. “That is one hell of a partner we have. Normally one has to be dealing with France to be treated so badly by a ‘friend.’”
Oh, for fuck’s sake. First of all, the stereotype in question might be old, but can Oddo say it wasn’t deserved? And isn’t there a better way of stressing the beauty and splendor of Staten Island than resorting to tired francophobe bullshit? What have the French ever done to Staten Island?
One of the highlights of the winter occurs each February when approximately two weeks after the publication of Sports Illustrated’s insanely profitable Swimsuit Issue, the magazine publishes the inevitable pile of mail from readers vowing to cancel their subscriptions. Perhaps anticipating the outcry of this vocal minority, SI has run the following item on the Letters page of their year-end double issue.
The annual SI Swimsuit Issue will be published in February. If you’re a subscriber and would prefer not to receive it, call our customer service center toll-free at 1-866-228-1175 and let us know. If you choose to not receive the SI Swimsuit issue, we will extend your subscription by one issue.
(this young man swears he was just looking for Bill Sheft’s column)
No word yet if SI will set up a hotline where other subscribers can order emergency replacement copies. It also seems like this would be a fine opportunity for Time, Inc. to send the rejected Swimsuit Issues to elementary & junior high school libraries around the country. It’s never too early to get kids hooked on the magic of reading, the photography of Bob Rosato, the pithy commentary of Rick Riley, etc.
St. Louis’ Mike Martz has denied filing a report with NFL Security, accusing injured OT Kyle Turley of threatening to kill the Rams’ head coach. Turley for his part, has also refuted the story.
I would assume there are so many people in the St. Louis area threatening to kill Martz on a daily basis, the coach must have trouble keeping track.
From ChezMeowMeow
Speaking of sports, I found Gerard Cosloy’s blog today. I guess I’m not as disappointed in the content as I am the rather toothless nature of it. I thought there’d be some seething analysis, the tearing down of boring league stooges (Hi, Tom Brady!) and the celebration of banal excess (do you guys need me to post my shipping address for the Artest thing or what?). Instead it’s just dry re-hashing of the same old hacks, with little to no original writing at all.
Hey, guilty as charged. As anyone who reads CSTB every day can tell you, I revere boring league stooges — all of ‘em! And this guy nailed me on the lack of orignal content. I mean, I’m tempted to share intimate details about my personal life, but compared to the scintillating stuff at CMM, it wouldn’t possiby stand up. I have no doubt that when you check out the aforementioned blog and get a load of this guy’s thrill-ride existence, you won’t be coming back here again. For instance, you’ll be dazzled with entries like :
I’m working 8-5 this week, which is completely rotten. At least I have computer access, but I haven’t worked like this in so long that a lot of the tips I learned to help whittle away sloooow days have disappeared from my memory. It doesn’t help that I’m stuck in this cycle where friends are in town, friends are leaving town, more friends are in town, different friends are leaving town that seems to translate to “get three hours of sleep before going into work a mind-numbing 9 hour shift with nothing to do and no iPod access because you might have to take a few phone calls.” I don’t do stuff like play games at work or anything that bold yet time-wasting, so I’m kinda stuck looking at the same handful of things on the internet and AIMing the crap of H*BOMb and Willis.
Hot stuff, eh? I’m enough of a good sport to admit when I’ve had my ass kicked. I just wish the horrible realization of CSTB’s lameness hadn’t hit me during this, the Suicide Season. Why, oh why, has it take so long for a superior talent to put me in my rightful place?
Goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar is an accused match-fixer and regarded by Roma fans as a cheat. He also owes The Sun a lot of money. The Guardian’s Rory Carroll traveled to South Africa to catch up with a football pariah.
Two decades after the rubber-legs act in Rome, a decade after the allegations of match-fixing and two years after his financial ruin, the so-called clown prince of English football has wound up coaching a team on the southern tip of Africa, broke, unrepentant and defiant. “The Britons bankrupted me. I came to their country with £10 in my pocket and they gave me £1 back. But in between I had one hell of a ride.”
Glory has not blossomed in South Africa. In five years he has coached six teams, including big hitters like SuperSport United, Seven Stars and Hellenic before moving on – and down – to poorer clubs. Apart from Manning Rangers he denies being fired from any of these jobs, but there was a cloud over each departure. Typically he would start well and push his new team up the league before faltering and dropping down. “He is sliding down the ranks,” says Julia Beffon, sports editor of the Johannesburg Mail and Guardian. “I don’t think he is a very good coach. Not very technically aware.”
In a blaze of statistics and anecdotes, Grobbelaar begs to differ, casting himself as a savvy saviour of underperforming teams who is nevertheless cast aside by managers too dumb or stingy to keep him. The body language is expansive and, appropriately for a goalie, includes numerous references to landing on his feet. But the sense of victimhood is unmistakable. He is the victim of Ian Smith’s Rhodesia which made him an army corporal in a doomed bush war against Robert Mugabe’s guerrillas in the 1970s: “It was a struggle to survive.” The victim of a supposed friend, Chris Vincent, who secretly videotaped their conversations about match-fixing: “I went into business with an arsehole.” The victim of a vindictive newspaper, the Sun, which splashed on the allegations and defended them in an epic, eight-year legal battle: “I wouldn’t even wipe my fucking arse with it.” The victim of a legal lottery whereby juries refused to convict him and he won a libel award only for judges to overturn everything and ruin him: “You win in the court of law and yet they decide that you have to pay the opposition.”
He reminisces about that famous night at Rome’s Olympic stadium in 1984 when Liverpool and Roma went to penalties to decide the European cup final. As Francesco Graziani prepared to take his kick, the figure between the sticks wobbled his knees in a parody of terror. Unnerved, the Italian missed, and another cup was on its way to Anfield. “The idea came when I bit the net before his kick. It felt like spaghetti so I did spaghetti legs.”
Grobbelaar splutters at suggestions it was not very sportsmanlike. “When you go out on to that field it’s going to be war. Sportsmanship is playing to the best of your abilities and then, afterwards, shaking your opponent’s hand.”
F Jerome Mosio, freed from Sam Mitchell’s Toronto doghouse since being waived last month, was signed yesterday by the New Jersey Nets. G Ron Mercer, currently in rehab following arthoscopic surgery on his left knee, was placed on the injured list.
Vince Carter, not quite recovered from last night’s cramping, scored 25 points after a miserable start, leading the Nets to a 84-80 win over the Bulls. Jason Kidd had another brutally cold night, scoring 4 points, but collecting 11 rebounds and 11 assists
Milwaukee placed F Keith Van Horn on the injured list yesterday. Van Horn has missed the last 10 games and is expected to be out for another two weeks. The Bucks improved to 8-16 last night, crushing the underachieving Rockets, 115-87 in the city Jeffrey Dahmer built.
On Tuesday, the New York Mets signed SS Chris Woodward (above) to a minor league contract. Woodward, 28, spent 2004 with the Blue Jays, hitting .235 with 1 HR and 24 RBI’s in 69 games. In parts of 5 years with Toronto, Woodward has a career .247 average with 26 homers and 135 RBI’s in 351 games.
The Mets also signed pitchers Manny Aybar and Joe Nelson to minor league pacts.
Nelson had a cup of coffee with the Red Sox last year (and not a good one, either) ; Aybar had 18 appearances in ‘04 for Puebla of the Mexican League.
Author, activist and self-described “zealot of seriousness” Susan Sontag has died at the age of 71.
Author of “The Volcano Lover”, “The Way We Live Now” and “Where The Stress Falls” ; an acclaimed essayist and human rights campaigner, Sontag had been undergoing treatment for breast cancer for some time.
(Gary, accepting the ESPY on behalf of Tom Sizemore)
Dallas needs a point guard and Gary Payton is unlikely to stay in Boston past next spring. The Fort Worth-Star Telegram’s Art Garcis explores the possibility, however remote, of the Mavericks making a move.
The Mavericks could be one of the many teams to enter the Glove Sweepstakes, if and when Payton hits the market. Payton will be on display tonight as the Boston Celtics open the Mavs’ five-game homestand at American Airlines Center.
The Mavs aren’t seriously pursuing Payton or point guards at this juncture, despite speculation. That doesn’t mean that can’t or won’t change by the Feb. 24 trade deadline.
Donnie Nelson, president of basketball operations for the Mavs, maintains contact with front offices around the league. Though owner Mark Cuban would rather stand pat, the Mavs are in the upgrade business if the deal is right.
If the Mavs weren’t concerned about point guard, the team wouldn’t have traded for Darrell Armstrong. Don Nelson has already started all three of his point guards, with Jason Terry the current first-teamer.
The Mavs are last in the NBA in assists per game at 17.5. Terry’s average of 3.6 assists would be the lowest in franchise history for the team leader if it holds up.
The Mavs would take a hard look if Payton were shopped, but it’s difficult to gauge what’s going on in the Payton saga. In one breath, Payton says he’s out of Boston after the season, returning to his home on the West Coast. The next, he’s leaving his options open for a return to Beantown.
Ainge has said it’s important to get something for Payton before he walks. Ainge has also said Payton is the perfect role model for the team’s young players, and it might be best to keep him for the season without any assurances of a return.
There are several reasons why Payton in a Mavs uniform would make sense. Despite being 36, he doesn’t have a long-term or high-paying contract. Payton is on a one-year deal worth $5.4 million.
As a true All-Star-caliber playmaker, Payton would serve as a perfect mentor for Devin Harris. The rookie from Wisconsin is the future at point guard, and having Payton on board (unlike Jason Kidd) doesn’t disrupt those plans.
Payton is one of the main reasons the Celtics, despite their 12-14 record, are in the Atlantic Division title hunt. While trading him is a viable option as Ainge builds for the future, the Celtics can probably do much better than anything the Mavs would offer.
The Mavs aren’t going to move young talent — Marquis Daniels, Josh Howard, Harris, etc. — for a short-term fix. Financial considerations might be more important in a deal for Payton or another high-caliber player.
The Mavs would prefer to move significant contracts, such as Tariq Abdul-Wahad or Booth.
Abdul-Wahad is an interesting option — only half of Abdul-Wahad’s contract for next season ($7.3 million) is guaranteed. The guarantee is 25 percent on $7.9 for the following season, the last on his contract. Though Abdul-Wahad’s “full” salary counts against the salary cap in those two years, the team would only be on the hook for a total of $5.6 million.
The selling point is a team can trade salaries within 15 percent of Abdul-Wahad’s cap value. If the Mavs throw in the maximum $3 million trade kicker, a deal for Abdul-Wahad benefits the bottom line.
It’s unlikely Payton fits into an Abdul-Wahad scenario. But expect the Mavs to take a look.
For years, the New York Post’s Phil Mushnick has bravely spoken out about the marketing of overpriced sneakers to inner-city youth, citing time and time again cases of young males gunned down in the pursuit of Air Jordans, Starter jackets (ask your grandfather) and other flimsy material possessions.
(I can’t look at this car without wanting to kill someone)
With today’s news that Vanderbilt RB Kwane Doster was slain following “trash talk” about an orange Infiniti, when will Phil do-it-for-the-kids and take aim at the automotive industry? Or the Post’s jam-packed auto advertising section?
Some war veterans in the Green Bay area were offended Sunday when the Packers flew the U.S. flag at half-staff at Lambeau Field in honor of the late Reggie White, the Green Bay Press Gazette reported Tuesday.
Ron Sager of Appleton, founder of the Fox Valley Vietnam Veterans Association, said the honor is reserved for those who have served or made a sacrifice for their country.
“It does cheapen the reason” for flying the flag at half-staff, Sager told the paper. “Obviously (Packers president] Bob Harlan was thinking that this is something he could use to pay tribute to White, but unfortunately he is not familiar with the etiquette.”
“As much as I appreciated Reggie White, not only for his football playing but his character off the field, I don’t believe the U.S. flag should be flown at [half-staff] for anyone unless it is authorized by our government. It sort of denigrates the service of those in Iraq and Afghanistan who have lost their lives.”
According to the U.S. Flag Code, which spells out the rules of flag etiquette, the American flag can be flown at half-staff only upon a directive of either the president or governor and on Memorial Day. The code also specifies who qualifies for the honor. Football players are not on the list.
Harlan told the paper he has ordered the flag lowered for others without anyone raising any objections.
“We have done this through the years and we are going to continue to do it,” Harlan said Monday. “I would hear from more fans who are upset with me if I didn’t do it than if I did. Is that what you are getting at, that we are not obeying the flag codes? Well, we are going to do it.”
However, Harlan said he has ordered the flag lowered for others associated with the Packers organization without objections. He did acknowledge, though, that the flags aren’t lowered when a local soldier is killed in Iraq or Afghanistan.
I’m offended that the NFL didn’t cancel the entire season in honor of Pat Tillman’s ultimate sacrfice.
The morning after a 104-101 defeat to Golden State, Denver (13-15) has fired coach Jeff Bzdelik.
The Nuggest, losers of 6 straight, have promoted assistant Michael Cooper to the top spot on an interim basis. Cooper, a cog in the Lakers’ ’80’s dynasty and former coach of the WNBA’s L.A. Sparks (with whom he won two championships) might have a little more slack than Bzedlik. The latter was sacked despite having to make do without Carmelo Anthony for the past 5 games, as well as losing Voshon Lenard on opening night.
With about 72 hours left to go in the life of Bob Pollard’s gift to rock’n'roll, Guided By Voices, rather than reflect on the thrills this American treasure has brought us, let us instead bring up the oft-argued position that Pollard doesn’t know how to edit himself, rarely exercises quality control, etc.
But before we get to that, is there an obligation on Pollard’s part to be any more or less focused, to display greater follow-though than say, someone who passes comment on hundreds of recordings a year? Is Bob any more or less arrogant to assume that every composition or recording is worthy of commerical release than the blogger who pollutes the universe with mind-numbingly boring details about his or her personal life?
I’ll save the next question for those of you who have actually done the research and aren’t just repeating shit you’ve heard a hundred times. Is Guided By Voices’ hit or miss ratio any better or worse than that of Bob Dylan, Mark E. Smith, Neil Young, Jay Z, Prince Rogers Nelson or the Frogs?
I think the GBV ouvre holds up pretty fucking well compared to any of the above — and that’s even if you take ‘Bee Thousand’ out of the mix. Naturally, I’m biased, but so is everyone with a pulse. The only people on earth who have a problem with Robert Pollard’s insane creative output are a) record company fucks who struggle to shift all of it (present company included) and b) self-styled guardians of quality control who are just as hung up on how their tastes reflect on themselves as they are the actual content of what they’re reviewing. For the actual human beings who purchase GBV records, having a lot to absorb is a blessing rather than a curse. Though I’m aware that Mike Piazza, waiting patiently for his Dream Theatre triple CD/DVD box set to arrive, could make a similar argument, Pollard’s efforts yield far more than “a few gold flakes” and only suffer comparison to his older work if you’re somehow embarrassed that you’ve liked the same band for more than 3 years. That is, without said band having the promotional savvy to break up, go insane, fall into lengthy legal battles with record company fucks, end up in prison, etc. I mean, shame on Bob for not having provided a hot enough backstory (until this week, that is).
The playoff prospects of the streaking Buffalo Bills took a turn for the better yesterday with the unsurprising revelation that rookie Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger is expected to miss the two teams’ regular season finale. From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ed Bouchette :
Roethlisberger has bruised ribs, and it is extremely doubtful he will play for the Steelers Sunday at Buffalo, sources told the Post-Gazette. He will, however, be ready for their first playoff game Jan. 15-16 in Heinz Field.
The Steelers had no official comment yesterday on Roethlisberger’s injury, other than to confirm it was to his ribs, the result of a late hit by Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs in their 20-7 victory Sunday against the Ravens. An MRI Sunday night showed no serious damage to Roethlisberger’s ribs.
No quarterback in the history of the game can match Roethlisberger’s 13-0 record as a starter in the regular season — not just as a rookie but in any season. Jim McMahon was 11-0 as a starter for the Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears when they went 15-1 in 1985. Bart Starr started every game for the NFL champion Green Bay Packers when they went 13-1 in 1962.
Roethlisberger long ago snapped the rookie quarterback record for consecutive victories, once held by Mike Kruczek at six in 1976.
By not playing in Buffalo, Roethlisberger will have set two more rookie quarterback records, held by Dan Marino since 1983. Marino completed 58.3 percent of his passes as a rookie, Roethlisberger completed 66.4. Marino’s rookie passer rating was 96.0, topped by Roethlisberger’s 98.1.
He also will become third all-time in the NFL among rookie quarterbacks with the highest average gain per pass attempt — and the best since the 1970 merger.
Cincinnati’s Greg Cook averaged 9.411 yards in 1969, Cleveland’s Bob Waterfield averaged 9.409 yards in 1946 and the Chicago Bears’ Zeke Bratkowski averaged 8.36 in 1954. Roethlisberger averages 8.88.
So, it appears his rookie regular season is in the books. Now, Roethlisberger can set his sights on the postseason and another first: No rookie quarterback has ever started a Super Bowl. Roethlisberger will have three weeks to rest those bruised ribs and try to make a run at that one.
An expensive airplane ticket to Spain isn’t necessary if you want to hear racist taunting at a soccer match. From the Associated Press :
The general manager of the Baltimore Blast vowed to apologize personally to a player for the Philadelphia KiXX who said two Blast fans directed racial insults at him during a Major Indoor Soccer League game on Sunday.
Kevin Healey also promised to try to find the fans involved in allegedly taunting KiXX forward Shawn Boney during the Blast’s 7-4 victory over Philadelphia.
The Major Indoor Soccer League, a 10-team league which plays a six-a-side game on artificial turf covered ice hockey rinks, is in its 21st season in the United States. Its players provided the bulk of the U.S. team at the recently staged World Futsal Championship in Taiwan.
In the fourth period, Boney said he was racially insulted by two women behind the goal. Boney, who is black, reported the incident to his coach and to Blast officials.
Boney, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, left quickly for the team bus after the game.
“Unfortunately, by the time I heard about the reported incident, the Philadelphia team and the fans had already left,” Healey said. “I will try to find the two women who were described, and they’ll probably deny it. But I’ll have a plan in place by the next time Philly comes here, and if someone is doing it they’ll be caught. We certainly don’t condone it.”
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From the Montgomery (AL) Advertiser’s Bob Lowry :
A federal judge has approved a settlement of a case in which a Montgomery woman who was a part-time baseball scout for the Chicago Cubs and their owners, the Tribune Co., accused the team of sexual discrimination for failing to promote her to a full-time scout.
Senior U.S. District Judge Harold Albritton signed the settlement agreement in the case, which originally had been scheduled to go to trial earlier this month.
Jennie D. “J.D.” Patton, 48, of Montgomery, originally sued the Cubs and the Tribune Co., in 2003 after the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued her a “right-to-sue” letter.
Terms of the settlement were sealed by Albritton, who ordered parties on either side not to discuss the details of the case.
According to court papers, Patton was hired by the Cubs’ scouting department on Jan. 5, 1994, as a part-time scout, earning $2,000 a year, plus expenses. Her lawsuit said she helped the Cubs “locate several outstanding baseball prospects.”
Patton said she continually expressed an interest in becoming a full-time scout as she gained experience, but she was passed over by men with little or no scouting experience. In addition, her pay was cut, compared to that paid to comparable male scouts.
A full-time scout for the Cubs in 1997-98 was paid about $39,000 annually.
Patton, the only female scout in the Cubs’ organization, was fired after she filed her charge of discrimination with the EEOC in 2002. The Cubs said her contract, along with the contracts of several other male scouts were not renewed because of financial reasons.
While she was a scout for the Cubs in the southeastern U.S., Patton was supervised by Jim Crawford. When Crawford was promoted to the new position of professional scout, Patton claimed she should have been hired to fill Crawford’s spot. Instead his duties were divided among five part-time scouts.
Patton, a native of Tennessee, first started as a Major League Baseball scout in 1989 with the Chicago White Sox. She later worked for three years as a volunteer coach at Enterprise State Junior College.
“I was always amazed at the depth and breath of Ms. Patton’s knowledge about baseball,” Enterprise baseball coach Tim Hasley said in an affidavit signed May 17, 2004. “Indeed, she was the best I have ever seen at evaluating talent at the junior college level.”
The Cubs and the Tribune Co., said Patton mainly scouted rural high schools and junior colleges in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. But Patton said she worked in larger cities in the South, plus throughout the state of Florida.
Preston Douglas, an experienced scout who gave a deposition in the case, said of the Cubs, “One thing I can say very strongly about the Chicago Cubs organization is that it exemplified them, and still exemplifies, as does most of professional baseball, a good ‘ole’ boy fraternal attitude and practices, with its rules of solidarity, discrimination, elimination and exclusion.”
“As early as 1995, I heard discussions and statements within the Cubs organization that Ms. Patton would never be a full-time scout because she was a woman,” Douglas said in the deposition.
(Fran has all kinds of time…to answer questions from the Securities & Exchange Commission)
Not content with tapping into the MILF craze or butchering the Kinks’ “Better Days” in the recent remake of “The Manchurian Candidate”, duller-than-dishwater rockers Fountains Of Wayne have entered the pop culture pantheon once again, courtesy of the NFL Network writes the NY Times’ David Carr.
The 13-month-old cable channel was created by the league to broadcast all football, all the time, including historical footage from NFL Films. If Fountains of Wayne seems like an unusual choice for the network, it is perhaps because the NFL has tended to favor the beer-and-barbecue stylings of Hank Williams Jr. over those of alternative rock. In the commercial, as the band sings, “The young quarterback, waits for the snap, when suddenly it all begins to make sense: He’s got all kinds of time,” gorgeous slow-motion photography is shown of Johnny Unitas, Fran Tarkenton, Troy Aikman, Joe Montana and Brett Favre roaming unfettered in the pocket.
Judy Fearing, the NFL Network’s senior vice president for consumer marketing, said she first heard the song nine months ago and was struck by the cinematic narrative. “When I heard the song, it was almost as if they wrote it with NFL Films in mind,” she said.
That happens to be the case. “I always had NFL Films in my head when I was writing the song,” said Adam Schlesinger, bassist and song writer for Fountains of Wayne. “The slow-motion effect is really key. I wanted to take this sports cliché literally and see if I could take those few seconds in the mind of a quarterback when he drops back, and make them last for the length of the song.”
Since I openly scoffed at Omar Minaya’s chances of landing Pedro Martinez, I’m just gonna shut up and see how this situation plays itself out. And then resume scoffing. From Newsday’s David Lennon.
With the ink barely dry on Pedro Martinez’s contract, the Mets have now targeted Carlos Beltran a top priority, two baseball officials familiar with the situation said yesterday.
After weeks of internal discussions about Beltran, the Mets are prepared to make a serious push for the 27-year-old centerfielder, who already has visited with the Astros and Yankees. Luring Martinez away from the Red Sox was a nice coup for new general manager Omar Minaya, but winning Beltran will be a far more difficult — and costly — undertaking for a number of reasons.
Beltran’s agent, Scott Boras, is looking for a 10-year deal worth $200 million. It was Boras who scared the Mets away from bidding on Alex Rodriguez after the 2000 season. The difference this time is that the Mets are coming off three disastrous years, not a World Series appearance, and principal owner Fred Wilpon apparently has entrusted Minaya with his checkbook to buy back some of that lost respectability.
Despite his agent’s lofty projections, Beltran’s price tag is yet to be determined, and the Astros reportedly started the bidding with a six-year offer worth roughly $96 million. Houston traded for Beltran last season, and after coming within a Game 7 of advancing to the World Series, thanks largely to Beltran’s record-breaking October, the Astros hope that familiarity works to their benefit.
Of course, the bottom line is the money, and Beltran is sure to top $100 million with the Yankees and Mets both involved. Beltran traveled to Tampa last Tuesday to meet with Yankees’ principal owner George Steinbrenner, though it is unclear if he received an offer, and Beltran could visit with the Mets as early as next week.
Minaya prides himself on the sales pitch, but despite a Thanksgiving recruiting trip to the Dominican Republic to woo Martinez, the Mets still had to decisively outbid the Red Sox with a four-year, $53 million contract. That won’t be so easy to do with Steinbrenner in the hunt, and Minaya will try to entice Beltran with something that the Yankees cannot match — top billing as the team’s brightest star.
Beltran, a potent switch-hitter with speed and defensive flair, is unlikely to topple either Derek Jeter or A-Rod as king of the Bronx. But there is a sizable void to fill in Queens, where Mike Piazza is in decline.
From the Oakland Tribune’s Josh Suchon:
Speaking publicly for the first time since the controversial trades of star pitchers Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder, Oakland Athletics co-owner Steve Schott insisted he didn’t order the trades as a cost-cutting measure, but supported the bold decisions by general manager Billy Beane.
Schott also said the trades were not to position the A’s to be sold more easily and suggested Barry Zito’s healthy track record was the reason he was the member of “The Big Three” who was picked to stay.
“Let me first say, I gave Billy no mandate to slash the payroll,” Schott said. “We knew we had a tough decision for sure with Tim and that was, without a doubt, one of the toughest. Those two guys have been, in my experience as owner, the greatest two pitchers we may ever see in a long time. They were warriors. They pitched their heart out and had great stuff.”
The A’s knew signing Hudson to a fair-market contract would be tough. But after the contracts dished out this winter — from the sub-.500 Kris Benson (three years, $22.5 million) to Pedro Martinez (four years, $53 million) — the A’s knew it would be impossible to sign Hudson within their payroll limits.
“(Hudson) deserves something in the low or high $50 (millions) for four years,” Schott said. “Telling Billy to slash the payroll was never in any discussion. It was how do we deal with Tim. If we can’t sign him, make a trade that will fit our needs. We think we did that.” Shortly after the Hudson trade, Beane told Schott he was thinking of trading Mulder too.
“I said, ‘I’m not thoroughly excited by it, but if you think we can get a lot of value for Mark, then we’ll do it. We have to bite the bullet,’” Schott said. “We have to retool and restructure the system. We can only do it the way Billy does it. We draft and try to trade now for players who come up through the system.
“The Mark Mulder situation was tougher for me. With Tim, we knew we couldn’t compete (financially for him). We’re much better off now. Their absence is tough. But the team is more balanced. We feel good. It’s young. The bullpen is much better. The outfield will be strong as well.”
The letters to the editor and posts on A’s message boards have mostly been negative about Beane’s trades. Schott pointed to the track record of Beane and asked the A’s fan base to keep that in mind.
“Billy’s done wonderful things for the ballclub,” Schott said. “Let’s face it, his percentage of being right over wrong is so far up the ladder it’s definitely remarkable. I’m not a scout or a guy who has time to evaluate who we are getting. I gave him a lot of flexibility to go in that direction and he certainly deserves the benefit of the doubt.
“Everybody criticized this thing. But the more you look at it, they are going to be outstanding stars down the road. Billy made some good moves. We were on the same page on this — all the way along.”
Schott created a position a year ago for Lewis Wolff to search for a new ballpark and the funding for it. The deal gave Wolff an option to purchase a share of the team, which Wolff is doing, but Schott denied he’s looking to sell the team.
“Right now, (Wolff) is trying to buy (co-owner and silent partner) Ken Hofmann out,” Schott said. “I don’t think any of this positioning is going to make it easier to sell. If that was the case, we would just leave it status quo. Why would I want to make a decision, as difficult as it was on Tim and Mark, if I really thought I’d sell the team?
“Lou is here to work with the city and county on a new stadium. That’s all he’s concentrating on. The bottom line is that we retooled this roster to be as competitive as we can and hopefully in the thick of it.”
Primed by an uncharacteristic display of accurate shooting from the field, New York beat Orlando 119-111 Monday night at the T.D. Waterhouse Something-Or Other Complex Of Aisles & Girders.
(Stevie Franchise, suffering from JYD being glued to his person)
Led by PG Stephon Marbury’s 34 points (21 in the first half), the Knicks broke out to a 9-0 lead and never looked back, scoring their highest point total of the season against a sluggish Magic squad. (NY’s 71 points by intermisison was the Knicks’ biggest first half total in 13 years). Stevie Francis and Cutino Mobley had 25 and 24 points apiece for Orlando.
Vince Carter had a strong debut for the Nets tonight, scoring 23 points (5 steals, 3 assists) in New Jersey’s OT loss to Detroit before having to be helped off the floor with what appeared to be leg cramps. Carter had played 42+ minutes in his first game back from injury and perhaps wasn’t ready for that much action. Not sure what excuse can be created for Jason Kidd, who scored a mere 2 points from the line, going 0 for 8 from the field.
Reuters is reporting that comedian George Carlin is undergoing treatment for excessive boozing and pain-killer popping. Though I ordinarily wouldn’t think Carlin’s difficult time was worth of repeating/linking to, much respect is due the 67 year old humorist for the following outburst, as documented earlier this month by the New York Post’s Page Six.
George Carlin ended his relationship with the MGM Grand in Las Vegas with a devastating diss the other night. The caustic comic finished his four-year run with a dark set that included riffs on suicides and beheadings, and made it clear that he couldn’t wait to get out of “this [bleeping] hotel” and Sin City. The Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Norm Clarke reports that Carlin told the crowd of 700 that he was looking forward to going back east “where the real people are.” He added, “People who go to Las Vegas, you’ve got to question their [bleeping] intellect . . . Traveling hundreds and thousands of miles to essentially give your money to a large corporation is kind of [bleeping] moronic. That’s what I’m always getting here is these kind of [bleeping] people with very limited intellects.” When a woman yelled something that sounded like “stop degrading us,” Carlin fired back, “Thank you very much, whatever that was. I hope it was positive; if not, well, [bleep] me,” using slang for oral sex. Strangely, though, Carlin isn’t ready to leave town yet: He’s jumping to the Stardust in February after a falling out with the MGM Grand.
(there are no tickets for Toni Braxton at will call and he’ll thank you not to ask again)
Jackson, a 13 year veteran, Ohio State graduate and one third of the Mavericks’ dysfunctional “Three J’s” (along with Jason Kidd and Jamal Mashburn) in the early ’90’s, is about to suit up for his 10th NBA team.
Despite rumors that the Indians were nearing a deal with free agent P Eric Milton, the AP is reporting that the veteran left-hander has signed a 3 year, $25.5 million (thank you, Kris Benson) contract with the Cincinnati Reds.
Milton was 14-6 in 2004 for the Philadelphia Phillies, made the All-Star team in 2001 and threw a no-hitter for the Twins on 9/11/99 — truly a a memorable event, but not one worthy of such somber rememberence as we’ve strangely seen around the sports world the past few years.
Eddie Layton, Yankee Stadium organist from 1967 to 2003, has passed away following a long illness. His age was not known.
Layton also played the organ at Knicks and Rangers games for some 18 years.
When I refered to 2/3rds of the Giant outfield (Bonds and Alou) being a combined 80 years of age, I was, of course, forgetting about Marquis Grissom. Luckily, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Scott Ostler is on the case.
Age is nothing more than a number, and the Giants’ outfield’s number is 115.
I asked general manager Brian Sabean if the combined age of his starting outfielders causes him any worries.
“Flurries?” Sabean said. “Nope, we don’t get much snow in these parts during baseball season. Now, when I was a youngster …”
Barry Bonds (40), Marquis Grissom (37) and Moises Alou (38) will be put out to pasture by the Giants on Opening Day. All three will celebrate birthdays during the season, God willing, although the team will combine the three cake celebrations into one event due to concern over global warming.
You want some speed in your outfield these days, what with the lively ball and the corked bat, so age might be a concern for the Giants. However, it should be noted that if Bonds, Grissom and Alou each has a career year in stolen bases by just one steal per player, they will swipe 150 bases!
(If all three match last season’s steal totals, they will swipe a combined 12 bases.)
What Bonds, Grissom and Alou have lost in speed, they more than make up for in, I don’t know, some other area. Like maybe veteran savvy. Or the ability to keep their caps from flying off while chasing flyballs.
Bonds has won eight Gold Gloves and Grissom four. Granted, Bonds has gone the last six seasons without winning a Gold Glove and Grissom has gone the last eight. But they’ve both forgotten more about fielding than most big-league outfielders know, including Alou.
(If Alou’s glove appears to be gold, it might be due to his hand-washing habits.)
It’s an interesting experiment the Giants will be conducting. Around the horn they have Mike Matheny (34) at catcher, J.T. Snow (37) at first, Ray Durham (33) at second, possibly Edgardo Alfonzo (31*) at third and Omar Vizquel (37) at short.
(*The inquiry flag is up on Alfonzo’s age. Some insiders raise the possibility of clerical error or smudging on Alfonzo’s birth certificate, since his first pro season was ‘91, when he would have been 17. And there’s the Victrola he plays at his locker.)
On the plus side, the Giants have veteran leadership and a quiet clubhouse.
“Age is only a state of mind,” the Giants’ players will tell us over and over, because they will refuse to bow to younger teams, and because old people tend to repeat inane tidbits of wisdom.
The addition of Stevie Franchise plus the re-emergence of a healthy Grant Hill has done wonders for the Orlando Magic. Even so, Pat Garrity and DeShawn Stevenson want out and aren’t afraid to say as much.
The Magic will be gunning for their 4th straight home win when they take on the Knicks this evening at 7pm EST. And by EST, I mean “Eastern Standard Time”, not that therapy where everyone sits in a circle screaming at one another.
Former Toronto Blue Jays 1B/DH Doug Ault, who hit the first home run in the club’s history, has passed away at the age of 54.
A native of Beaumont, TX, Ault played for the expansion Blue Jays between 1976 and 1980.
Can a player’s remaining $14 million salary be voided if he’s found guilty of assualting a foreign judge? I bet Peter Angelos would like to know.
Tim Thomas (above) has had a rough start to the 2004/05 campaign, but he achieved a small measure of redemption with a 20 point (7-11 from the field) performance in New York’s win over the same Charlotte team that embarrassed them earlier in the season.
That said, the Knicks’ season-long indifference to defense was manifest in 23 offensive rebounds to the expansion Bobcats, led by no. 2 overall pick Emeka Okafor (23 points, 15 rebounds).
In other good news for the Knicks, Jamal Crawford took fewer ridiculous shots than usual yesterday. He was on the injured list and wearing street clothes, but I think it is important to give the young man as much positive reinforcement as possible.
(from left to right : Corvette, Brick Wall)
Though I was more impressed with Dwayne Wade stepping up in the national spotlight, predictably, much of the coverage of yesterday’s LA/Miami tilt centered on the ongoing spat between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. Our friend Sam Frank uncovered this gem from today’s NY Times.
When the fans rose for O’Neal before the game, Bryant stood and clapped with them.
But any pretense of a cheery reunion had dissipated by tip-off. As players exchanged greetings at halfcourt, O’Neal and Bryant found each other and – without making eye contact – exchanged brief pats on the back.
Asked about that lack of interplay, O’Neal said: “Being married, I have no interplay or foreplay with another man. I’m a married man. ‘Hey, how you doing?’ That’s it.”
6 days after blowing an 11 point lead with 4 minutes left against Miami, New England rebounded big time, handing the Jets a 23-7 defeat that denied New York a chance to clinch a wild card berth. The Jets will have to win next Sunday’s game in St. Louis in order to make the playoffs.
(Pennington, wondering if that “greatest athletes in the world” line was such a good idea after all)
At 13-2, the Patriots guaranteed themselves a first round bye and at least one home playoff game. Tom Brady was 21-32 (2 TD’s, no INT’s, 264 yards) in a typically mistake-free performance. His counterpart, Chad Pennington, will have the NY press corps questioning just how priviledged they were to observe his
rough afternoon after being picked off by Teddy Bruschi and Gene Wilson. Some portion of Pennington’s struggles can be directed towards the Jets’ inability to establish their running game, as they gained a mere 46 yards on the ground, 33 of them courtesy of a frustrated Curtis Martin against his old team.
