Mr. Benigno-Gazino, can we at least agree that Carlos Beltran’s 2-run, game-tying HR off Jonathan Broxton today at Shea qualifies as an actual, big-deal, clutch accomplishment?
Mike Francesca, is the above photo not sufficient evidence that Beltran is actually capable of showing some emotional range besides petulance? Or am I guility of doctoring an old photograph of Joe McEwing and Bill Pecota?
(Cannon, muppets. Not shown : Sports Putz)
OK, it wasn’t nearly that pithy. But after ESPN’s Bill Simmons made the reasonable observeration, “Nobody is beating the Lakers this season. Not Boston, not Detroit, not anybody. They have the best team, the best player and a Hall of Fame coach. It’s really that simple”, Green 17 of Celtics Blog responded, “yesterday, you became the giant turd in the punchbowl”.
Comparing the stadium entertainment between LA and Boston is not an appropriate way to compare basketball teams. But this “article” follows similar negative drivel, bashing one dimension of KG’s game while ignoring everything else he does. Or your repeated criticism of Doc, which is fair in some respects, but also neglects to credit everything Doc does bring to the table.
Why do you hate this team Bill? Why? The consistent negativity you write with is reminiscent of a cranky Peter May. That’s what you’ve become man. The original Boston Sports Guy, the voice you’re trying to resuscitate in your little sick out with ESPN, would be just as disgusted and disappointed with you as us Celtics fans are.
From here on out: Stop It. Just Stop. We no longer want you talking about our team publicly. You’ve lost all credibility with Celtics fans. All of it. Don’t bother with some lame and dumb reverse jinx excuse to explain your writing. And really, spare us the joyous article after we do win the title. None of us want to hear about it from Showtime Simmons. Enjoy rooting for Kobe, we hope you’ll be happier sitting next to Diane Cannon, just don’t tell us about it.
I didn’t actually get the impression Simmons was praising LA’s in-game entertainment, nor actually pulling for a Laker championship. But if Bill is really sitting next to Dyan Cannon, the latter must’ve pissed off someone in the ticket office.
After last night’s Eastern Conference finals dismissal at the hands of the Celtics, Iced Antonio McDyess (baby) isn’t exactly going out on a limb in predicting Detroit GM Joe Dumars might break up the Pistons (”he’s not blind and the fans are not blind. What went on this year, I can just say we didn’t give it all we got.” The Detroit News’ Chris McCosky is a tad more specific, promising “it was the end, most likely, of Flip Saunders’ coaching tenure. It was the end of Lindsey Hunter’s playing career…and it might be the end of Rasheed Wallace’s time in Detroit.”
Wallace has one more season on his contract, and the plan has always been to let him play out that final year, even if his role is reduced.
But, for the second straight year, Wallace flamed out in the conference finals. Last year, he openly defied Saunders’ defensive calls in Game 5 against Cleveland, then got himself thrown out of Game 6.
This year, the season ended with earning a $25,000 fine from the league for bashing the referees after Game 5, coming late to shoot-around Friday morning and playing one of the worst playoff games of his career.
He managed just four points, missing 10 of 12 shots (0 for 6 from three-point range) and three turnovers.
Pistons president Joe Dumars gave Wallace a pass after last season. You wonder if he will give him another.
“You could say it’s a lot of things, but like I told the guys, at the end of the day, when we lose, we all look bad,” Richard Hamilton said. “We all look bad. We know what it takes to win and when we don’t do it, it’s on us.”
Fascinating to think that Flip Saunders — hardly an incompetent head coach compared to some of the characters currently employed —- might be looking for work this summer. Does anyone remember that time way back when (all of 4 weeks ago) Mark Jackson was actually considered a viable candidate by more than one team.
In addition to scoffing at the Bulls’ rehire of Doug Collins (”how Chicago chairman Jerry Reinsdorf can endorse a person he fired in 1989 under shadowy circumstances after the Bulls were evicted from the Eastern finals defies comprehension”), the New York Post’s Peter Vecsey still hasn’t quite gotten over the final moments of the Spurs’ Game 4 loss to the Lakers earlier in the week.
Despite repeated evidence to the contrary, ex-coaches and former players-turned-TV-analysts continue to stamp Joey Crawford as one of
the NBA’s elite officials. I challenge them to cite a controversy within the past 20 or 30 years he was judged to be correct.
If the league office isn’t calling Crawford on David Stern’s carpet, or fining and suspending him, it’s apologizing for a game-deciding mistake – his non-call on Derek Fisher jumped into Milk Bonespur Brent Barry in the waning seconds of the Lakers’ two-point Game 4 victory.
With the aid of instant replay – and the help of Crawford’s seeing-eye dog – the league felt compelled to admit a foul had been committed for fear its fans would buy into the twisted perspective of those same commentators that the game is whistled differently in the last minute of a game than the first 47.
Naturally, mixed messages lead to confused reception. On one hand, the league boasts that only the highest-grade refs are assigned to work late into the postseason. Then it undermines them by announcing they screwed up.
Nobody can deny Fisher created contact, yet nobody on TNT’s air (or connected with the Spurs) expected Barry to get “bailed out” from behind Joakim Noah’s arc? Reggie Miller and Kenny Smith admonished Barry for not “selling” the foul to officials the way Indiana Bones and Walt Frazier did. Yup, Brent should be ashamed of himself for not kicking his opponent as Reggie was wont to do.
Later in the column, Poison Pete declares ABC/ESPN’s “Bill Russell-Kevin Garnett made-for-TV lovefest could not have been more contrived”.
I missed the chit-chat in question, but I am willing to take Garbage Time All-Stars‘ word for how it went down.
Taking a somewhat dim view of the New Zealand national cricket team’s recent tour of England, David Mitchell aka Peep Show’s Mark Corrigan (above) writes in Saturday’s Guardian, “everyone’s thinking, “if those guys were really good at sport, they’d be in the rugby team.” Thankfully, Mitchell wasn’t assigned to cover the England/US soccer friendly earlier in the week.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think this attitude to New Zealand is justified. They genuinely are a decent side who have beaten England plenty of times (although not that often in England) but that just doesn’t seem to matter. Fundamentally I don’t think enough of us care how good New Zealand are at cricket – and they probably don’t care much in return.
It’s not an age-old clash, England against New Zealand – there’s no ancient rivalry, not much post-colonial bitterness, no history of war, it’s just two countries that both think the other is kind of fine. In the rugby they’ve managed to pep it up with the haka and other Maori stuff but in the cricket there’s just no story. And people crave stories in sport – a proper narrative like in a film: a pacy start, an exciting jeopardy-filled middle and then a happy ending, just like the Ashes in 2005. What a shame they made that lousy sequel.
Manchester United have just got to the end of a great narrative: 50 years since the tragedy of the Munich air disaster and 40 years since they first won a European Cup they are once again the pre-eminent club in Europe if not the world. I don’t like football but even I can see that, the tedium of all the actual matches aside, this is a story that has everything – including potentially, if the fans take my advice, an ending. Yes, now is definitely the time to stop supporting Manchester United.
I mean, what are they going to do next year? It’s either going to be repetitive or disappointing. The credits are rolling, the story is at an end; put down your popcorn and leave the cinema. People talk about supporting clubs “through thick and thin” but what they mean is “thin and thick” (assuming thick is good and thin is bad, like penises rather than pancakes) – no one wants to see triumph and then disaster; they want it the other way round; that’s how nice stories work.
…I humbly offer the following bits of consolation to the Motor City :
a) your hockey team is still involved in some tournament or another.
b) it takes a special city to provide a home to a band that dropped a trio of 7″’s paying homage to Suicide, INXS and Sparks earlier this spring.
c) as long as Todd Jones is pitching for the Tigers, lonely young men from all over North America will consider Detroit a likely destination.
d) while the Pistons didn’t win Antonio McDyess the trophy he’s long coveted. Boston and LA might have this year’s NBA Finals dance partners, but they don’t have any FAYGO.
‘Tis curious on the morning after Carlos Delgago (above) made a nice play on a liner down the first base line, the Newark Star-Ledger’s Dan Graziano would label the Mets’ 1B, “a statue in the field.”
According to officials with three major-league teams, who requested anonymity because they were discussing another team’s plans, Omar Minaya has been calling around this week to gauge the availability of players he thinks could help the Mets improve.
Specifically, the officials said, Minaya has let it be known that he’s looking for a first baseman (Baltimore’s Kevin Millar has come up) and a right-handed arm for the bullpen. One of the officials also said the Mets were expressing interest in outfielders (particularly Pittsburgh’s Jason Bay and Xavier Nady), since it’s now clearer than ever that they can’t count on Moises Alou to play for them at all.
This tells us that the Mets are determined to turn around this season and make a run for the World Series, whatever it takes. But perhaps more importantly, it means they might finally be admitting to themselves that this core group that’s been together since 2006 isn’t a winner, and may require radical changes if it is to reach its goals.
Some changes have already been made. Carlos Delgado has been booted from the starting lineup the past two nights, and it’s about time. Currently, Delgado is of no value to the Mets whatsoever. He’s a statue in the field, a ghost in the clubhouse he ruled just two years ago, his on-base percentage is a sickly .294 and they have to use a pitcher to pinch-run for him because they don’t think he can score from second on a single.
Willie Randolph said before last night’s game that he expected to put Delgado back in the lineup tonight, but given the chance to pinch-hit him for Damion Easley or Fernando Tatis in the eighth against righty reliever Matt Lindstrom, Randolph passed, and it was the right call. Delgado couldn’t hit Lindstrom’s fastball if Lindstrom were throwing from second base. He’s toast, and the fact that he was sitting the past two nights (especially with the Mets already missing both corner outfielders) sends the message that the status quo is no longer acceptable around Shea.
The allegedly worthless Delgado is 3rd on the club with 8 HR’s, and he’s on pace to drive in 86 runs. Mediocre numbers for a first baseman, granted, but would Graziano consider Carlos D. to be any more or less washed up than Jeff Kent or Jim Thome?
A plethora of technical issues will prevent much discussion (’round here, anyway) of the end of the nasty Spurs dynasty, but on the sociological front, Fox Sports’ Professor Jason Whitlock claims “there’s one issue driving improved ratings that likely won’t be touched by all the NBA talking heads on TNT and ESPN. Tattoos. Or rather the lack of tattoos in the conference finals.” Good thing those championship contenders narrowly avoided trading for J-Will, huh?
Part of the reason more people are watching these playoffs is because the average fan isn’t constantly repulsed by the appearance of most of the players on the court. Most of the key players left in the playoffs don’t look like recent prison parolees.
The only accurate way to describe Garnett, Pierce, Duncan, Allen, Manu, Parker and even Kobe is “clean cut.” Yeah, there are a couple of tattoos in that group — Duncan has something on his back, Kobe still has his post-rape-allegation tat — but the Lakers, Spurs and Celtics have far less ink on average than your typical NBA franchise.
Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony have more tats on their hands than the entire Spurs roster.
I know many of you probably think the number of tattoos doesn’t influence viewing habits. You’re wrong. Like everything else televised, appearances matter. There’s a reason you don’t see nude scenes in movies with fat people. Trust me, fat people have sex. It’s just no one wants to see it. Not even fat people.
No one wants to watch Delonte West or Larry Hughes play basketball. It’s uncomfortable and disconcerting. You don’t want your kids to see it. You don’t want your kids to think they should decorate their neck, arms, hands, chest and legs in paint. You don’t want to waste time explaining to your kids that some millionaire athletes have so little genuine self-confidence that they find it necessary to cover themselves in tattoos as a way to mask their insecurities.
It’s a fascinating argument, and one you can instantly flush down the toilet when you consider the appearances of ink devotees Shaq or Dennis Rodman never caused one hoops fan to change the channel. Or, to point to the very series still undecided, has Big Sexy not noticed the arms of Rip Hamilton or Rasheed Wallace?
Sen. John McCain once famously called MMA “human cockfighting”, but as the sport moves closer to the American mainstream, the U.S. Armed Forces “are using the sport not only as a way to build morale and aid in recruiting, but also as a training aid to enhance the skills of soldiers” writes the New York Times’ Michael Brick.
To rally the troops, military leaders have welcomed professional fighters with names like Ace and the Huntington Beach Bad Boy. The Army has conducted tournaments among soldiers. In an opinion article for Army Times last year, Maj. Kelly Crigger urged commanders to field a team of fighters on television in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the dominant pro league.
“Many of those viewers are eligible recruits,” Major Crigger wrote. “The U.F.C. provides a great venue to get the Army name into the minds of millions of young Americans.”
Across the service, the embrace of mixed martial arts has come with some reservations. The sport’s emphasis on solitary glory runs counter to the Army’s recent efforts to shift recruiting themes from individual development (Be All That You Can Be; Army of One) to group unity (Army Strong; Go Army).
But as the sport found its audience on channels aimed at young men, recruiters and drill sergeants soon took notice.
Military officials have sought practical applications. In 2002, the Army published a new field manual section on mixed martial arts techniques. Its author, Matthew C. Larsen, the director of the Modern Army Combatives Program, considered competition a powerful motivator.
“As long as we’re all about our values and upfront about what the Army stands for, and that’s being warriors, the question is, what kind of warriors?” said Mr. Larsen, who served as a young Marine in Tokyo and earned several black belts. “The game of mixed martial arts is just that, it’s a game. But the game can be training for the real thing.”
Mr. Larsen has promoted his program cautiously, acknowledging that too much focus on competition could train soldiers to win competitions, not battles. But the shifting nature of modern warfare, especially as conducted in the cramped corridors of Iraqi homes, has helped make his case.
“These guys could be in any situation, from a life-and-death battle with a bad guy to trying to subdue a citizen who has Stockholm syndrome, and you don’t even want to hurt that guy,” Mr. Larsen said. “But you’ve got to have all these moves for all those different situations.”
Seems to me we’re long overdue for another remake of “From Here To Eternity”. I suggest the feckless Shia LeBouf would be a fine choice to reprise the role of Montgomery Clift’s Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt, refusing to take part in the military’s MMA competitions. Harrassed by his fellow soliders, Prewitt finds sole support from Private Angelo Maggio (with Jared Leto tackling one of Frank Sinatra’s finest dramatic parts).
It’s been a few months since we’ve run an item on The Former Ultimate Warrior. While the shoot interview above is several months old, I do hope for those seeing it for the first time, it proves as reliably provocative. Some of us have been waiting years for Gary Cole to get a crack at a lead role, and hopefully this will be just the catalyst.
I don’t mean to doubt the veracity of any public claim that CSTB is worth $1,470,044.00. But if someone offered me a tenth of that amount to turn over the entire operation, I’d be outta hear faster than you could say “speed and cruelty”. They could Coors Light/Today’s Action Army the blog to death for all I cared. I’d hand over Jason Cohen’s email address (I might even have David Roth’s social security number somewhere) and the keys to the executive washroom. The transition would be seamless to the point where you’d never remember I was here in the first place.
In all honesty, I find these sort of figures profoundly depressing. All those thousands of bikini photos and Sports By Brooks is barely worth more than CSTB? It just doesn’t seem fair. Either pandering doesn’t pay what it used to or the industy leaders (ie. that oh-so-smutty Baseball Musings) have made it impossible for the rest of us struggling hopefuls to compete.
“‘I’ll still be the manager of the Mets before he will” sneers Newsday’s David Lennon after reading Gary Carter’s press release. Hey, I’d wager Lennon would get an interview sooner than Wally Backman. Hey, how come nobody’s asking Art Howe or Jeff Torborg if they’d be interested in applying?
“I have been inundated with requests for interviews regarding my comments about the New York Mets managerial position. In order to be fair, I cannot honor all the requests and would like to issue the following statement instead:”
“My goal over the past six years has been to work my way back to the major leagues as a manager or coach. In order to accomplish that goal I agreed to start at the bottom by managing two years in Port St. Lucie in the Mets minor league system. This year the Orange County Flyers of the Golden Baseball League selected me to manage their team, and to help me reach my goal. I took that position to allow me to stay in baseball and be close to family members who live in this area, and to come back home to where I grew up.
“As part of my arrangement with the Flyers, I have been given the option to return to the majors if a coaching or managerial position becomes available. I have always maintained an open dialog with the Mets, and my recent contact with them was to explore if there was something I could do to help this team that I care about. My intentions were not malicious, but I acknowledge that my actions have been hurtful to Willie and his players.
“I want to publicly apologize to Willie Randolph, and the Mets, for my radio comments. Throughout my career, and in many cases to my detriment, I have been open and honest with the media and at times discretion may have been a better choice. I continue to be an avid fan of Willie and the Mets, and have confidence that this team will be successful.
“Thank you to all my fans who understand my tendency to wear my heart on my sleeve and let my enthusiasm get the best of me at times. I am honored by your support.”
“Good thing Vlade Divac isn’t in the league anymore because he’d wind up owing the NBA his whole salary by the end of the year,” says Rog, noting this morning’s announcement the Association would begin monitoring the ghastly practice known as flopping. While some will contend the new measures are long overdue, the timing of said edict leaves no doubt whatsoever Rasheed Wallace is the single most influential man in the game.
TSN reports that Vancouver Canucks defenceman Luc Bourdon was killed in a motorcycle accident in northern New Brunswick on Thursday. He was 21.
“Luc was a winner, he was a competitor,” said Kent Hughes, his agent. “There was no quit in him. He persevered through a lot. He was a great guy and a great teammate.” Hughes added that he never knew about his client’s new hobby. “I had no idea,” he explained to CKNW in Vancouver. “Another client of ours, Kris Letang, said Luc let him know he was riding his dad’s motorcycle with some friends a week or two ago. I have since been told – though I don’t know – that he actually bought a motorcycle two days ago.”
Canucks GM Mike Gillis made this statement:
“We are deeply saddened by today’s news and on behalf of the entire Vancouver Canucks organization, I would like to extend my sincere sympathies to Luc’s family. Luc was an extremely talented player with a bright future. He brought great passion to the game and was a valued team member on and off the ice. He will be greatly missed.”
Bourdon was one of the Canucks’ top prospects and an asset former GM Dave Nonis hesitated to include in any potential deal for more scoring.
Seen during the 8th inning of the Brewers’ 8-1 loss to visiting Atlanta earlier today.
Captain Red Ass and Chad Cordero are doing commentary for MASN during this afternoon’s Nats/Padres game. Much weirder than hearing Boogie Shoes praise the aggressive base-running of Lastings Milledge is the revelation that Lo Duca and Cordero currently resemble identical twins.
While the Daily News’ Adam Rubin wonders if Willie Randolph will dare allow slumpng Carlos Delgado to face the Dodgers’ highly touted lefty Clayton Kershaw this weekend (hint : not unless Carlos D. learns to hit from the right side), the Houston Chronicle’s Jose De Jesus Ortiz reports that recently waived Mets reliever Jorge Sosa has signed a minor league contract with the Astros, and will report to Triple-A Round Rock.
Sosa will become the 4th ex-Met to wear an Express uniform this season, joining a glittering cast that’s included Alberto Castillo, David Newhan and Victor Diaz. Watching Round Rock this year has been kinda like going to a Long Island Ducks game, except it’s 25 degrees hotter and there’s fewer guys named Buttafucco in the stands.
Seattle’s KOMO TV reports a pair of women were ejected from a Mariners game for kissing. Each other. Said item doesn’t specify whether the game was Eric Bedard’s gem Wednesday against Boston, but presumably the below incident happened recently.
Sirbrina Guerrero says she only gave her date a peck, but a mother sitting with her son complained to security and, as a result, they were told to stop or leave.
“And he (the security guard) goes ‘there’s a lady whose son says he saw you guys making out, and I did, too. And you have to stop.’ And I said ‘well, we weren’t making out, but we were kissing and I’m not going to stop,’” said Guerrero.
Guerrero says the only reason she was called out was because of her sexual orientation.
“(The security guard said) the mom doesn’t want to explain to the kids why two girls are kissing. So I said ‘well, I’m not going to stop, so you’ll have to kick me out. So he said ’so I suggest you leave then,”‘ she said.
Safeco Field officials refused to comment on the incident. However, officials did send KOMO News a copy of the field’s code of conduct which states “displays of affection are not appropriate in a public family setting.”
But Guerrero and her friends don’t buy it. After Guerrero was flagged at the game, they took pictures of other couples who kissed but were not reprimanded. Those couples, they said, were heterosexual.
When asked whether she and her date were acting lewd in any way that would have prompted such a firm response from the security guard, Guerrero said, “We were eating garlic fries. The last thing we wanted to do was make out with each other. Honestly, that’s what it was.”
I remain hopeful this is a misunderstanding and not indicative of homophobia on the part of the Mariners. I’ve spend at least 30 minutes designing a “J.J. Putz Drives Me Nutz” t-shirt for sale via Cafe Press, and I’d hate to think none of the thousands of Seattle male buyers would feel comfortable wearing it to Safeco.
Previously rebuffed by Mike D’Antoni, the Chicago Bulls are expected to announce the hiring of Doug Collins as their head coach. Collins has a career record of 332-287 over stints with Chicago, Detroit and Washington, but never took the Bulls beyond the Eastern Conference finals.
Earlier this spring, Collins claimed no interest in the Phoenix coaching vacancy, and presumably the allure of Chicago’s no. 1 pick in the June draft played some small part in changing his mind. He’s also turned down a pair of overtures from Milwaukee in the past two years.
Given the circumstances surrounding Scott Skiles’ firing (ie. his squad had tuned him out, wished he was dead, etc.) it seems a tad curious to bring back a coach who wore thin on players with far greater talent than anyone on the current Bulls roster.
Once again we turn to the New York Times’ “Slap Shot” for a bit of sensible debunking, in this case re: the NHL’s terrific ratings. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I am pretty darn impressed a hockey game is up there with the Tour de France as the Outdoor Life Network’s VS’s highest-rated program ever, but can you imagine saying that in 1985, when the so-called “Big 4″ sports had no real competition (from other sports, or anything)?
Anyway, the words of Jeff Z. Klein:
There has also been a lot of talk about how this year’s ratings are way up, like 275 percent up, over those of the 2006 and 2005 finals.
Well, there’s a reason for that. The U.S. ratings for the last two finals were so minuscule as to be practically nonexistent. It’d be virtually impossible not to manage an increase in viewership this year, which mathematically would happen if, say, you convinced each member of your immediate family to watch on separate TV sets.
The real test comes tonight with the ratings for NBC’s broadcast. Be on guard for stories tomorrow that say the ratings tonight were twice those of last year; remember, last year’s were historically tiny.
Click on the link to see Klein’s chart, which shows, for example, how the ‘97 Red-Wings Flyers final drew a 4.0, while the ‘04 Tampa-Calgary, ‘06 Carolina-Edmonton and ‘07 Ottawa-Anaheim mustered a 2.6, 2.3 and 1.3, respectively.
There are lots of other factors to consider, including the overall decline of sports ratings in general, and of course, the lockout, but Klein’s final question is still fair enough:
Can Wings-Pens draw an audience large enough to equal the modest levels of 8, 9 or 10 years ago?
The breakdown I would like to see on Friday is how much of the inevitable increased viewership lives outside of Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Because the U.S. network would have had exactly zero viewers from one of the two team’s markets each of the last three finals, and something tells me Anaheim did not draw droves of loyalists/bandwagoneers in quite the way Detroit and Pittsburgh do (or Raleigh and Tampa for that matter).
And if the ratings elsewhere in the U.S. have gone up because of the Red Wings’ Yankees-like (both history and recent dominance) appeal and Sidney Crosby’s Q rating, is that a price that hockey really wants to pay (i.e., “let’s hope those small-market Canadian teams don’t get back to the final very often)?
(l-r : the Mets’ Fernando Tatis gets a hug from his embattled manager. Not shown, the Aaron Heilman Of 2006 who made an appearance earlier tonight)
(l-r : don’t fucking ask.)
(the Celtics lead the Pistons at halftime tonight, neither side daunted by a billion fewer eyeballs following their movements)
From Reuters :
NBA playoff games have been taken off air by China’s state television network because they are considered too entertaining for a nation still recovering from the Sichuan earthquake.
All entertainment in China was stopped last week for three days of national mourning for the victims of the 7.9 magnitude quake that struck the western province on May 12.
State TV sports channel CCTV 5, like most other stations, returned to normal programming last Thursday and showed the Western Conference finals game between the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs on May 22.
But subsequent encounters in that series and the Eastern Conference playoff finals between Detroit and Boston were not shown.
“These games are not in accordance with the atmosphere of the nation after the devastation of the earthquake. They are too entertaining” Jiang Heping, director of the state TV sports channel, told Reuters.
In light of the horrific events in his country, I will resist the urge to suggest Jiang has not actually seen Tim Duncan play.
How harsh is Future’s “Kansas Jayhawks – The Champions” (mp3, link courtesy Jeff Jensen)? After repeated plays, even Duke fans are gonna wish North Carolina had won.
Noting the epidemic of fishy goings-on in the world of racquet sports, the Washington Post’s Norman Chad wondered this past monday, “Who exactly is betting on all these tennis matches?” I dunno, someone who knows they’re fixed?
In my sordid, quasi-adult life, I have bet on football, basketball, baseball, poker, blackjack, roulette and the occasional marriage. I have even tipped a keno runner. But it has never occurred to me to lay a red cent on tennis.
In addition, I know several reputable and disreputable gambling types – fellows who would wager on the length of a priest’s sermon – and none of them has ever called a bookie and said, “Psst – give me two dimes on Elena Dementieva in Prague.”
Amongst those suspended was suspended was Giorgio Galimberti (above), ranked 1,009th in the world with a 9-21 career record.
To me, his gambling excesses are understandable – what’s he supposed to do when he loses in the first round, hang around the hospitality room for free sparkling water? Trust me, if he’s in town the rest of the week, he is likely either hooker-bound or bookie-bound. And when choosing between those two vices, I always lean toward the latter, for I cannot recall a single time I ever left a prostitute with more money in my pocket than I brought.
“I am not a stupid sportswriter,” proclaims the New York Daily News’ Filip Bondy (would Peter Vecsey care to chime in?), while denouncing the Mets’ claims of 51,489 and 47,093 tickets flogged for their last two games as “dreamy fabrications”.
Congratulations to the Mets, who successfully have taken over the lead in New York for fabricating attendance figures.
This was no easy accomplishment, because the Knicks have been piping numbers for several years now, pretending they had a string of sellouts when there were tickets available at the window and empty seats galore. The James Dolan era has produced more imaginary spectators than any in memory.
I know that these are supposed to be ticket sale numbers, not an exact turnstile count, and that there inevitably are some no-shows. But the Mets would require a 40% no-show rate to make this believable, and their crowd is working class. Very few Met fans are going to buy expensive tickets and then watch the game on television.
I was at these two games and personally witnessed entire, vast regions of the upper deck devoid of life. This is a stadium that seats 55,601.
There were no more than 35,000 fans in the park on Monday, and no more than 25,000 on Tuesday.
I don’t quite understand why it is necessary to pretend that the Mets are drawing fans in droves to their lame-duck, decrepit stadium. Hopefully, when they move to Citi Field, there will be real bodies in the seats instead of air.
Without disputing the main thrust of Bondy’s argument — the Wilpons will spit in the public’s mouth and swear it was Diet Pepsi — ’tis a bit of a stretch to claim Mets season ticket holders are all “very working class”. And there’s nothing unusual about well-paid New Yorkers blowing off a game in poor weather, particularly if the team in question has won 1 of their last 8 games. In that respect, the Knicks comparison is all too apt.
An MRI of Ryan Church’s head revealed nothing (hey, some of us could’ve told you that a few years ago), but the New York Times’ Alan Schwarz solicited expert medical testimony charging the Mets with gross irresponsibility in allowing the outfielder to pinch-hit after suffering his 2nd concussion in two months.
Several experts in sports-related concussions said that Church — who has told reporters that he has had a headache and has felt dizzy and tired almost every day since his injury — should not have been allowed to play at all because his symptoms had not cleared.
The experts said common guidelines for concussion management require that athletes be free of symptoms — sometimes for several days — both before and after physical exertion before they can return to competition. They also said that because Church had sustained a more severe concussion in spring training that cost him a week, the risks for him were greater.
“That’s a situation that could be very dangerous,” said Dr. Mickey Collins, assistant director of the University of Pittsburgh Center for Sports Medicine’s concussion program. “I haven’t examined this player personally, but if there were a second trauma to a person still experiencing symptoms, the risk could be much higher to a player’s health because he hasn’t healed from the first concussion.”
Dr. Robert Cantu of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, one of the nation’s leading experts in concussion management, said: “You’re playing roulette with your patient. You know the chances of him having another concussion are low, but you’re running the risk of exacerbating the symptoms that he does have. Now a person who would be asymptomatic in a week or two can have those symptoms go on for many months.”
“It’s his call,” Randolph said. He added: “He’s been feeling a little bit groggy, and most of what he feels is that uneasiness with his total, you know, mind. It’s kind of weird because he feels like he’s kind of foggy. He says he can hit, he can do that. But in the outfield, he’s unstable out there.”
Randolph added: “When you’re talking about head injuries, I’m pretty lame on that. I don’t even know how to respond to, you know, when we can put him out there.”
Church has gone 1 for 4 as a pinch-hitter since the concussion. Before almost every game, he has told reporters of symptoms. At one point he said, “I’m just sick of feeling like this.”
After sustaining a concussion in July 2006 while playing for the Brewers, Corey Koskie attempted to come back despite symptoms including headaches, dizziness and nausea. He experienced far more severe symptoms for six months, and eventually had to retire.
“That’s pretty much the reason I’m here today — thinking I could play through it,” Koskie said in a telephone interview from his home in Minnesota.
Regarding Church, he added: “I think he’s nuts. He doesn’t want to get to the point where he’s not going to get better. Tell him to call me. It’s not worth it.”
(DeRosa, giving Jacque Jones the only hug he ever got in Wrigley)
Don’t know what’s going on with the fractious Mets Clubhouse, but somewhere between Piniella Swagger and Oprah style talking it all out, the Cubs are on the verge of a Dodger sweep tonight. Some insight into what keeps the team together comes today from Mark DeRosa’s blog, The Pulse, as he takes this stroll down memory lane with former DeRosa hata’ Ryan Theriot. Buzz Bissinger and Skip Carey might diss blogs, but which one of them ever broke a hugfest like this? And for the record, I’m bummed that DeRosa chose to go with his team nickname for the blog rather than the fan suggestion, “De-Scoop with De-Ro.”
DEROSA: How did it feel when you’re sitting in Baton Rouge and it came across the ticker that Mark DeRosa had just signed to play second base with the Chicago Cubs.
THERIOT: In all honestly, when I saw it, I really felt like punching you right in the mouth and or breaking your leg. It was kind of a shock. It was a little upsetting in the beginning. But after Jim [Hendry] called me, and we talked a little bit about it, I felt better about the whole situation.
DEROSA: And when I showed up at Fitch Park, what were your impressions about me?
THERIOT: I didn’t know if we were getting a second baseman or an Ultimate Fighter. Your physique was comparable to that of a Greek god.
DEROSA: Or Bob Howry.
THERIOT: Or Bob Howry.
DEROSA: So, I was intimidating at first?
THERIOT: You were intimidating at first, yeah. Once I got to know you, I understood your skit.
DEROSA: You basically figured out I was soft.
THERIOT: Yeah, in so many words.
From the AP :
Pittsburgh-area sports radio host Mark Madden has been permanently taken off the air by ESPN.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette quoted Madden as saying that he had hoped Sen. Edward Kennedy “would live long enough to be assassinated.” The Massachusetts Democrat has a malignant brain tumor.
Madden made the remark during his show Wednesday. The show has aired weekdays from 3 to 7 p.m. on 1250 ESPN. Madden was last heard on the air Thursday, the day before his comments appeared in the newspaper.
There’s no truth whatsoever to the rumor Madden is now seeking employment as a speechwriter for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
There’s no truth to the rumor the Yankees’ Joba Chamberlain was unavailable for last night’s 11-10, 10 inning loss to Baltimore because of texting blisters. But go ahead, start one anyway. From USA Today’s Mel Antonen :
Joba Chamberlain, who is making the transition from eighth-inning reliever to the rotation, says he is in touch with Roger Clemens regularly.
“We text back and forth and I ask him a lot of questions, because that’s how you get better,” Chamberlain said before the Yankees’ game in Baltimore Tuesday night. “You can’t be afraid to ask questions. I ask him everything from workout questions to how to pitch to certain batters. I never thought I’d be texting Roger Clemens.”
Chamberlain says he’s taking pieces of Clemens’ workout routine and incorporating them. One piece of advice Clemens gave him: “The easiest day should be the day you pitch,” Chamberlain says. “Then, I beat myself up in between starts. I run, lift, eat right and take care of myself between starts.”
We’ve not seen any of those AT&T commercials featuring Debbie Clemens, a golfing Rocket and a dropped connection in several weeks —- does anyone know why? —- but I’m sure the phone company is already planning something based on the above report.
H.G. “Buzz” Bissinger’s latest give & take with The Starting Five’ Michael Tillery is not completely without merit ; the former has some relatively sensible things to say about the state of modern journalism, Philadelphia’s sporting scene and his own career. That said, Bissinger has hardly cooled off regarding tackling dummy Will Leitch, nor has he developed a particularly sophisticated take on a medium other than his own.
MT: Could Deadspin be seen as chickens coming home to roost regarding the lack of check and balance for conventional journalism? Growing up I would read a journalist and had the want to voice my opinion but that opinion was never heard. Whether or not it was in a letter to the editor or some other form of complaint. Could blogs be seen as that check and balance for journalistic culpability?
Buzz: Yeah! I think that’s the best of blogs when they do that…where there is an interplay. People say why pick on Deadspin? Well, it is the most popular sports blog in the country. I don’t see that type of rational dialogue taking place. When I see the comments and replies that people make to a Deadspin post, it’s not rational argument. It’s all about the one liner that maybe can get me on Stewart’s (Jon) show or Stephen Colbert. They all think they’re much funnier than they are. It adds to this era of mockery that we live in. That’s not true of every blog. There’s one called the Beer Leaguer that covers the Phillies where the posts are rational and so are the comments. It’s all about what’s happening with the Phillies and what’s happening with Howard (Ryan), and Myers (Brett) etc. Do the Phillies need another pitcher and the like. It does give the fan a voice to give their opinions. I think that’s great. I think most blogs are used to make idiotic comments that they think are funny. To me it shows that they need to do something else with their lives because they have way too much time on their hands.
There is one big difference to what I did on Costas Now and bloggers. I didn’t hide behind anything. I didn’t hide behind some silly email handle or some silly name. I was myself. That was my name. My email is public and that’s a big difference. Blogs should insist that people use their real names. Would they still get the same amount of hits if they are really for change?
Post whatever you want but you gotta use your real name and it’s gotta be verified.
They’ll never do it because it’s a money game, let’s face it. The more posts you get, the more hits you get, the more money you make. That’s not just to entertain us. That’s also to make money.
Deadspin is in it to make money.
Not for the first time, Bissinger’s argument ends up being reduced to a pure matter of taste. He’s professed respect for “information based” blogs, selectively ignoring how some of those he’s cited engage in the same low-brow pranksterism he claims to despise. And how thin would our mainstream print publications be if they were all purely “information based”? While Bissinger thankfully acknowledges sports yack radio is at least as toxic as the blogosphere, he’s yet to propose a ban on newspaper editorials.
The topic of anonymity is a rather desperate one to raise. The blog Bissinger has criticized most loudly, Deadspin, makes no secret of it’s primary author/editor or publisher. If he’s referring to non-moderated comments, has he spent much time surveying the cretinous reader efforts at least one recently sold Tribune Co. property allows on their site(s)? Why, precisely, are blogs being held to a higher standard than major newspapers that have been publishing for nearly 70 years? Could it have anything to do with Bissinger being a somewhat pilloried figure in the blogosphere long before his pseudo-historic encounter with Leitch?
Finally, if Bissinger believes Nick Denton’s commercial enterprise is all-too willing to pander to make a buck, at least the Pulitzer Winner can sleep at night knowing that he’s only toiled for classy establishments that were only interested in the intellectual stimulation of their readers.
Trailing 93-91 in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final with the Lakers, San Antonio’s Brent Barry (23 points, 5 rebounds) collected an inbounds pass with a few seconds remaining. Despite being mugged by Derek Fisher after a pump fake, Barry failed to draw a foul. Spurs In No-Flop Shocker.
For instance, had Manu been in this situation, the contact from Fisher would’ve been enough to propel his body to San Marcos. Instead, Barry put the ball on the floor, didn’t get what could’ve easily been 3 foul shots (thank you, huge Spurs fan, Joey Crawford) and San Antonio’s reign looks just about over.
(UPDATE : Pop says Crawford got it right. Tim Duncan claims there was zero chance of Barry getting the call and his teammate “did the right thing” in trying to drive around Fisher. Barry refused to bitch about the call but looked genuinely stunned when Craig Sager suggested the play “could’ve been a career defining moment.” No one does non-emotive quite like the Spurs.)
Willie Randolph might’ve received a vote of confidence from his GM yesterday — albeit one that couldn’t have been more qualified — but one group of Mets fans have decided to bail before the All-Star break. Ladies and Gentleman, Alex Nelson introduces RaysGeek.
Eric called a meeting at the MetsGeek offices. We threw some ideas around to liven the site up again, but, in the end, the staff unanimously agreed to just drop the Mets gimmick. We’re tired of this team, and we felt it was time to attach ourselves to a new beacon of light and hope: the Tampa Bay Rays.
Why the Rays? As it turns out, we have a lot in common. We both needed to clean the slate with a new identity this season. Well, half a slate; the Rays only removed half their nickname, and, if you look at the banners above, you’ll notice we’ve chosen to do the same. Mr. Met’s smiling visage shall continue to shine down upon our daily content. After all, I’m not even sure if the Rays have a mascot, and Mr. Met remains the best, even when the team doesn’t.
So I’d like to welcome everyone to RaysGeek.com, home of the best Rays analysis on the internets. We pray that you, our readers, shall remain faithful to the site and not the team. Unlike the Mets, we’ll never let you down. Because if the Rays’ season takes a turn for the worse, you can bet that we’ll be ready to jump ship again.
I’m sure these gentleman are 100% serious about this, and not even a result as incredible as a starting nine featuring Fernando Tatis, (2 singles, 2 RBI’s), Ramon Castro (2 for 3, 2 RBI’s), Damon Easley and Nick Evans beating the first place Marlins tonight will cause them to second guess their decision. The Rays’ 12-6 loss to the visiting Rangers is another story, however. Josh Hamiltion’s 8th inning grand slam off J.P. Howell gives him an astonishing 58 RBI’s before the start of June. Hopefully, Steve Phillips will see past the tattoos and druggy ways and shall vote for Hamilton on his All-Star ballot.
Wow, the lengths some folks will go to in order to avoid putting Jason Kidd in a position of responsibility. In the spirit of Gene Simmons Toyota of Newbridge, NJ, it would appear as though deposed Mavericks coach Avery Johnson has landed on his feet.
(A: That depends. What time can you get here?)
“Never fear, lovers of elbow room and A’s games: The Coliseum will return to its spacious self soon enough,” writes the San Francisco Chronicle’s David White, whom having observed a packed stadium for Oakland’s weekend sweep of Boston, warns “the A’s will go back to being one of the hottest unwatched shows in the big leagues – at least until the Yankees come, June 10-12.”
The A’s rank 26th in attendance, the same spot they finished the past two seasons. They have averaged 20,803 fans through 27 home games for a 561,696 total.
Almost 90,000 came at two “home” games in Tokyo. Another 97,592 came for last weekend’s Red Sox series, and it only seemed like half of the fans swore allegiance to the defending world champions.
In 14 of the 22 games in between, unused seats outnumbered seat-sitters 2-to-1. Only two of those games broke 30,000 at the Coliseum, where capacity is listed at 34,077 with most of the upper deck tarped off.
Don’t point fingers at the players. The A’s are 28-23. They sit second in the AL West, two games behind the Angels. The A’s have spent almost half the season either tied for the division lead or in sole possession of first.
Only the upstart Rays have played better ball (31-20) before fewer home fans (18,686 per game). Somehow, that’s of little comfort to a franchise with a vastly superior history.
“That’s one of the first things I noticed when I came over here,” said A’s outfielder Rajai Davis, who started the season with the Giants before riding the waiver line across the bay. His first game with the then-first place A’s was April 24 against the visiting Twins. The crowd count was 12,593.
“When I was over in San Fran, I know we were in dead last but they were committed fans and they came out,” Davis said. “Over here, even when we were in first place, the crowds weren’t like what you’d think.”
I hate to take issue with Rajai’s attempts to contrast the, er, level of commitment amongst Northern California’s baseball fans, but the Giants are currently averaging 33,708 patrons per game. That’s a pretty significant decrease from 2007’s average attendance of nearly 40K per game.
Of course, only a cynic would suggest the ‘07 Giants drew such robust crowns mostly on the back of The Sultan Of Surly’s assault on the record books. Or, if you prefer, someone actually paying attention.
Despite Brett Favre having retired last March, Green Bay has kept the QB’s locker intact during early practices, a situation On Milwaukee’s Jason Wilde considers unfair to Aaron Rogers, “who has as tough a follow-up gig as anyone has ever had at quarterback in the NFL.”
Rodgers is trying to play with the specter of Favre hovering over him, and there’s a tangible reminder of the guy 10 feet away. To bring Favre back for the jersey retirement at the regular-season opener is one thing; to have his locker still there is another. The subject first came up at the NFL meetings in Palm Beach in April, when McCarthy asked rhetorically, “Would you want that locker? You’ve got to be kidding me. We’re talking about a couple things.”
When I saw Favre’s locker was still intact at the post-draft rookie orientation camp in early May, I asked about it again.
WILDE: How come Favre’s locker is still intact?
McCARTHY: Who do you want me to put in there?
WILDE: I don’t know. But isn’t it just a locker?
McCARTHY: I think it’s more than a locker, and there’s some plans for the locker that will be addressed in the future. But there’s nothing else to it. I wouldn’t want his locker, especially after his hygiene, my goodness. It’s a locker of a very special player in the history of our organization, and there are some plans for the future, and we’ll address that when it comes. I’ll just leave it at that.
While the hygiene line was funny, McCarthy didn’t say exactly what the plan for it is. Will they save it for posterity, as the Washington Redskins did with the late Sean Taylor’s locker, or the Minnesota Vikings did with the late Korey Stringer’s? I don’t know.
I still think it’s just a locker, and Favre didn’t die, he retired. Put ex-University of Wisconsin punter Kenny DeBauche, who grew up in Green Bay, in it, and it’s a story for one day. DeBauche talks about how cool it is to have Favre’s locker, and then, after that, it’s not Favre’s locker anymore. It’s DeBauche’s. And then someone else’s down the road.
(the savior of the Mets’ 2008 season)
After Monday’s embarrassing dressing down of Mets manager Willie Randolph, the New York Sun’s Tim Marchman — having previously called for Randolph’s firing —- admits “no better manager” is available, and puts some of the onus for the club’s results squarely on the shoulders of the El Duque/Luis Castillo-loving, Heath Bell-dispensing Omar Minaya (”who tosses away a human shield while it’s still capable of catching incoming bullets?”). Marchman, does however, have some propositions that don’t involve sacrificing Randolph, amongst them, acquiring the youthful Kenny Lofton.
One thing to do might be to put Johan Santana on a pitching schedule befitting his age (he’s 29) and $137.5 million contract. Santana is on pace for just 31 games and has made seven starts on five or six days of rest, as against three on four days rest. Some other aces, such as Brandon Webb and Josh Beckett, have also pitched more on longer rest this season, but not as much as Santana, and they also don’t play for teams that have routinely been starting random minor league veterans. Santana has traditionally pitched a more regular schedule — from 2005-2007, just 41 of his 100 starts came on long rest — and can presumably handle doing so in the National League. Every start he doesn’t make is effectively a start for someone such as Claudio Vargas, and even if that only adds up to three games in a year, no team in the Mets’ situation can just wave off three games.
Another thing to do would be to get rid of reserves Endy Chavez, Damion Easley, and the currently injured Marlon Anderson, who between them have 188 at bats — about as many as David Wright — and a .191 AVG/.231 OBA/.255 SLG batting line. Whatever intangible virtues they may have obviously haven’t done the team any good, and aside from Chavez’s defense, which could be replaced by Angel Pagan’s once he comes off the disabled list, the three have contributed little on the field while soaking up an alarming amount of playing time. Thin as the farm system is, it does feature some real defensive players, such as middle infielder Anderson Hernandez, and some real hitters, such as minor league veteran Val Pascucci. Better a one-dimensional player than a no-dimensional one, and at this point, better a hungry player getting his first real crack at the majors than a veteran.
A third move might be to work toward swapping starter Mike Pelfrey with reliever Aaron Heilman. Since a good first start against Philadelphia, Pelfrey has given little reason to think he’s going to develop into a decent starter — his three decent starts came against Washington and Cincinnati, two teams that can’t hit — while his big fastball and durability seem as good a fit for a multiple-inning bullpen role as they did at the beginning of the year. Meanwhile, Heilman, owner of a 6.29 ERA, has devolved into near-uselessness in the pen, and it’s hard to imagine exactly what of use the team could get for him in a trade. I’ve never thought that he seemed like a good fit for a starting role, but it’s hard to see what possible harm stretching him out could do, or why anyone would think he’d be much worse than Pelfrey or Nelson Figueroa.
I’ve long wondered how desperate things would turn before Mets management gave serious consideration to the idea Aaron Heilman might be a more respectable 5th starter than say, Jose Lima or the late Geremi Gonzalez. With the manager’s neck on the line (if not that of the GM), perhaps now would be a fine time to let Heilman sink or swim in the role he’s long coveted anyway.
Who knew what kind of sparks would fly when legend in his own mind Darren Heitner interviewed former Bulls PG B.J. Armstrong for the former’s Sports Agent Blog? Not many, as it turns out. Armstrong might be a relative newcomer to the brutally competitive world of sports representation, but his short stint at ESPN clearly taught him plenty about saying absolutely nothing of value when given the opportunity.
Heitner: Is there any particular reason that Derrick Rose picked you as his primary agent over Arn Tellem?
BJ Armstrong: Again, I think that Derrick chose me largely because I played in Chicago and he grew up in Chicago watching me play. There was a time in Chicago where I played on some pretty good teams. The things that happened in that city as he was growing up probably left a mark on him. Again, I believe that I was the beneficiary of good timing. Derrick and I even played the same position. Sometimes things just line up…you can’t plan it. I think we just had a few similarities in our background that made it all work out for a lot of different reasons.
Heitner : Do you have any relationship with William Wesley? If so, what is your general impression of his role in professional basketball?
BJ Armstrong: I have known Wesley for over 20 years. I knew him back when I was playing in the late 80s. I have a great relationship with Wes and I have no problems with him whatsoever. He was a part of our family when I was playing in Chicago, when I was traded…I have always known him. He has been nothing but a friend to me since I entered the NBA. He’s been with us forever. It’s just Wes…he’s there. I still see him; he is everywhere. You see him at sporting events, venues, games.
Heitner : What is your response to David Falk’s recent comment that signing players is becoming less about what you have to offer to the client, and more about paying athletes and/or people close to them in order to represent them?
BJ Armstrong: I guess that is possible from his perspective. More importantly, he would have to answer it in more detail from his experiences. It is interesting that I have gone through the process of representing clients as an ex-athlete. I am certainly not naïve to think that the possibility of corruption isn’t there. I think David would really have to clarify his statement, though, because certainly you cannot say that it’s the only realm of possibility. It’s not the only way that things are done in this business.
After Da Bulls’ Joakim Noah made the wrong sort of headlines this weekend after allegedly brandishing “an amber colored liquid” in a public place, the former Gator standout predictably suffered the slings and arrows of the sports blogosphere — a community where beer and weed have never, ever been consumed, presumably. Thankfully, there’s one guy capable of putting this in the proper perspective. Ladies and Gentleman, CSTB’s Father Of The Year, Yannick Noah, as quoted by the Associated Press :
Yannick Noah is perplexed by “all that fuss” surrounding the arrest of his basketball player son, who was charged with marijuana possession and having an open container of alcohol.
Chicago Bulls forward Joakim Noah was arrested Sunday in Gainesville, Fla., after an officer spotted him on a sidewalk holding a plastic cup. Police said that during a search at the station officers found marijuana in his pocket.
“I don’t understand all that fuss for just drinking a beer on the street,” Yannick Noah said Tuesday at the French Open.
The elder Noah won the title at Roland Garros in 1983. He created a sensation a few years before when he told a magazine writer he smoked marijuana.
Joakim Noah was released after signing a notice to appear before a judge — standard procedure for such offenses. He could face up to six months in jail and a $500 fine for the marijuana charge.
“I talk to him every day on the phone,” said Yannick Noah, who was at Roland Garros on Tuesday for the dedication of a walkway named after him. “He’ll soon come over to France to see me.”
I don’t have time to consult the Elias Koteas Sports Bureau today, but if anyone else is interested in doing the research, I’d love to know for sure which incident received more coverage from the combined forces of the MMS and sports blogs —- Noah’s arrest, or Jerry Buss’ DUI.
….for whatever percentage of the population doesn’t own a smartphone, PDA, laptop or desktop computer, yet would still have WiFi in their home (link taken from Deuce Of Davenport).
It’s almost as though someone sat around a boardroom and decided the only thing that stopped WebTV from achieving critical mass was the unshakable notion the American people wanted to do all of their surfing and shopping via their television remote controls, yet without actually watching television.
Prior to presiding over Mike Pelfrey’s latest debacle, Willie Randolph endured the humiliation of being called to the carpet by Hall Of Fame baseball executive Jeff Wilpon, only to learn after the meeting that Carlos Delgado either (depending on your point of view) refused to endorse the manager or failed to reply to a baited question. Still, Randolph’s got at least one supporter left, in this case, the same reporter who almost cost him his job. “Given what Randolph has endured in baseball,” writes the Bergen Record’s Ian O’Connor, “his bosses should let him breathe on the issue of race.”
Randolph didn’t say anything divisive or inflammatory when we discussed black and white inside his old home, Yankee Stadium, eight days back. The manager simply raised the question of whether his skin color is among the factors — on a conscious or subconscious level — that are weighed by fans and critics when measuring his ability to lead the Mets.
It was and is a legitimate question to ask.
When he meets with Fred and Jeff Wilpon today, meets with them after losing six of his last seven games, Randolph should apologize to his bosses for the play of his $140 million team, and for the comments suggesting the SNY network was fixing to portray him in an unflattering light.
Camera operators are supposed to film managers and head coaches for reaction shots when their teams mess up. It’s called good TV.
Randolph also should accept full responsibility for his statements in an on-the-record, tape-recorded interview conducted before a number of witnesses, a notion he’s comfortable with one day, not so comfortable with the next.
But Randolph shouldn’t retreat from anything he said within the context of race. As the de facto offensive coordinator of Joe Torre’s dynastic Yanks, Randolph was rejected as a candidate for one managerial job after another, this while every white bullpen catcher and his brother got a gig.
Does anyone really believe that a white man who was a two-time champion Yankee as a player and a four-time champion Yankee as a coach would’ve waited as long as Randolph did before a franchise finally called his number?
Randolph wasn’t ranting about overt racism in the Shea stands. He merely was talking about the very real possibility that some have a problem with black leadership, whether they realize it or not..
How bad, you ask? Frank Caliendo and Fred Travalena have both offered to find a new line of work if the creator of this monstrosity is willing to follow suit.
(not on the Commish’s iPod)
Hockey people have already found a lot to gripe about in Gary Bettman’s state of the league talk, but this part here slipped through the cracks.
Q: Are you chagrined or bothered by the fact that the Pistons and Celtics are going head to head against you both nights here and could you have gotten together with David Stern and done anything about it?
COMMISSIONER GARY BETTMAN: What’s interesting about that question is, and as I’ve watched the commentary on the subject, everybody seems to be focused on us. And I think that’s a little unrealistic and a little unfair. Not without noticing the Tigers are playing tonight. There’s, what do they call it, a techno rock concert. I don’t know exactly what that is, but it’s next door. I assume there will be thousands of people there.
Now, considering that Bettman seems the sort of guy who would refer to rapper “Snoopy Dog” (as I once saw C. Delores Tucker do at a legislative hearing) or think that Nickelback are indie rock, “techno rock concert” seems a close enough description of Detroit’s Electronic Music Festival, where Josh Wink and Kevin Saunderson are among the competition for Games 2.
But at least we know where Kid Rock’s gonna be. I find it just a little curious that in the midst of Johan Franzen fever, there’s been absolutely no talk about Chris Chelios. The Julio Franco of the NHL was injured in the last round but has purportedly recovered. Guess he turns up Wednesday if the Red Wings lose.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press checks in with Cheli’s salt-of-the-earth friends. And to think people gave Springsteen a hard time for moving to L.A.
Chelios is at the core of a group of athletes, entertainers and others who own property in the Southern California community, pal around and work out together.
The Malibu Mob includes Chelios, big-wave surfer Laird Hamilton, tennis star John McEnroe and actors Tony Danza, John Cusack and John C. McGinley, who provided some insight into the group’s activities.
McGinley, who stars as the fast-talking Dr. Perry Cox on the NBC (and soon to be ABC) sitcom “Scrubs,” grew up a Rangers fan in New York, but switched his allegiance to the Wings after his Malibu neighbour Chelios was traded from Chicago to Detroit in 1999.
McGinley said his fellow Mob members all are big Chelios fans and drop what they’re doing to see him play when Detroit is on the West Coast. They have seen the Red Wings play during recent stops in Los Angeles, Anaheim and San Jose.
If Chelios is in town, “the Mob is meeting,” McGinley said. “Whoever’s here is a quorum.”
The Mob members converge on a luxury box at the arena “so we can just completely bask in Cheli’s glory,” he said.
Or Andreas Lilja’s glory.
…apparently, the Mob is willing to expand its numbers should the right candidate come along. Currently under consideration is a lifelong Wings fan – Detroit’s own Kid Rock (real name Robert Ritchie).
“Kid Rock is coming on quick,” McGinley said. “There will have to be a Mob vote. Bobby’s one of the guys. He’s just the best.”
What, no mention of Tim Commerford?
Boston Sports Media’s Bruce Allen wants your cash. But he’s not just looking for handouts, ala David Pinto (sorry, David). Rather, Allen is promising, “The first 50 people to donate $50 or more to the site will receive a box of something.”
It might be worth more than $50, it might be worth much less. It might be one thing, it might be two things or more. It might be a book, it might be a video or a shirt. It might not even be sports related at all. I can tell you though, there are some real treasures to be found in here!
If you told me there was a 5% chance of claiming Eddie Andelman’s amazing collection of lampshades, I might go for it.
The only way the following excerpts from Maury Allen’s latest entry for Columnists.com could be improved upon would be if you closed your eyes and imagined them being read aloud by Hank Kingsley. (Link swiped from Repoz and Baseball Think Factory)
Jackie Robinson’s plaque at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York does not mention the fact that he was the Major Leagues’ first African American in the 20th century.
Former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey stood up at his resignation press conference and announced, “I am a gay American.”
Sometimes we get too little information. Sometimes we get too much.
Mike Piazza retired last week as one of the game’s greatest catchers and surely will be a Hall of Famer with his .308 lifetime average over 16 seasons with 427 home runs.
I hope they put on his plaque, “I’m a heterosexual American.”
Piazza, the discovery of Tommy Lasorda, a boyhood pal of Piazza’s father, Vince, in their hometown of Norristown, Pennsylvania and the ball player’s godfather, is the only announced heterosexual in baseball history.
Babe Ruth never had to announce that nor Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Hank Greenberg, Stan Musial or Bob Feller. Nobody else ever did in the game’s history.
On January 29, 2005, Piazza married Playboy Playmate Alicia Rickter. One newspaper photo of the handsome guy with his gorgeous wife ended the gay rumors. On February 5, 2007, Nicoletta Veronica Piazza was born to the happy couple.
On July 31, 2013 Mike Piazza will be standing at his Hall of Fame induction in Cooperstown before 60 living Hall of Famers and 10,000 fans. I expect him to announce, “I am a very gay heterosexual American Hall of Famer.”
At the risk of cutting and pasting from myself for a change, is there no evidence more irrefutable of a man’s heterosexuality than his getting married to a lady, especially in a highly publicized ceremony.
Rather than contine to mock Piazza for a public statement that seemed to spread rumors faster than it refuted any, I might consider how his career would’ve changed had he announced “I am a gay American who will soon be moved to first base”.
While this might be Willie Randolph’s final day in charge of the New York Mets, Keith Hernandez, as quoted by Newsday’s Neil Best, takes a dim view of former teammate Gary Carter openly campaigning for Randolph’s job.
“I have great respect for Gary as a player,” said Hernandez, on Ch. 11 yesterday. “He’s a Hall of Famer. When Johnny Bench left the game, he was the premier catcher in the National League.
“But that being said, and I’ve kept quiet for such a long time, but for the people out there listening, just go in the dictionary and look up ‘unconscious’ and you’ll find a picture of Gary Carter.
“I know that’s strong, but it just happens too many times and it’s just, you’re walking around unconscious.”
Carter said in a Sirius Satellite Radio interview Friday that he reached out to the Mets when he learned Randolph’s job might be in jeopardy. He softened those comments Saturday in an interview with WFAN.
Before Hernandez’s shot at Carter, play-by-play man Gary Cohen said: “Regardless of what happens, you can’t be any more indelicate or graceless than Gary Carter was in saying the things he said about being available to take over the job. I just cannot believe that Carter said what he said.”
I’m gonna take a very wild guess. In the event Randolph is fired, the Mets are more likely to opt for someone whose managerial/coaching resume is slightly longer than one year in the Gulf Coast League and less than a week in the Golden League.
A few weeks ago, it was suggested in this space the University Of Texas might not receive an invite to the field of 64 for this spring’s national baseball championships. However, after winning 12 of their final 14 games, including yesterday’s 15-7 victory over Kansas State to claim the Big 12 Tournament crown, it seems pretty unlikely the Longhorns won’t receive an at-large bid when the full selection of squads is revealed later this morning.
That said, Texas’ bid to host a regional later this week at the newly refurbished Disch-Falk Field wasn’t recognized by the NCAA, who instead named Lincoln, Stillwater and College Station as the Big 12’s representative venues. I thought the committee’s choice of Texas A&M’s home field was curious in light of the Aggies losing 4 in a row to the Longhorns over the season’s final 9 days, but perhaps the NCAA are for once, acknowledging serious academic achievement? From the Austin American-Statesman’s Ben Banta :
Aggie graduate student Stacey Turk’s master’s thesis shows that fat from brisket contains significant amounts of oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid that can promote good cholesterol in people.
The study was publicized by A&M officials in late April. Stephen Smith, the professor who supervised Turk’s study, says it shows that oleic acid in brisket “is like olive oil, and, as far as I know, has no downside to it.”
Smith, whose doctorate is in biomedical research, said the acid’s “effects are either neutral or positive (in a diet). And other studies confirm that good cholesterol goes up in men who consume fat high in oleic acid.”
“We did not know we could get that kind of fat from brisket,” Smith said.
Smith, who has been at A&M for 25 years, said the cut’s fatty ridge generally is trimmed off by butchers and tossed aside. But he thinks that meat processors should save the beneficial fat and use it when they produce ground meat.
“It could make for a healthier hamburger,” Smith said.
The AP is reporting veteran pitcher Geremi Gonzalez, who had brief stints with the Blue Jays, Red Sox, Brewers, Mets and Yomiuri Giants, was struck and killed by lightning yesterday in his native Venezuela.
While our thoughts are with Gonzalez’ family and friends, it must stressed one last time that bad things continue to happen to persons who make out with Jose Lima.
It’s a small world and one packed with crazy coincidences. On Friday night, I caught a tiny portion (and by “caught”, I mean watched thru the doorway without paying) of Greg Ginn & The Taylor Texas Corrugators making their first or 2nd Austin appearance. Ginn, shown to the right of White Flag’s Pat Smear aka Bill Bartell, recently moved to Central Texas, and if Quinn Snyder isn’t available to coach the D-League Toros next year, the Spurs could do a lot worse than put the squad in Greg’s capable hands.
Here’s the conicidental part. I was in Lake Elsinore, CA this afternoon and witnessed the Padres’ Cal League affiliate Storm getting kicked around by the Lancaster Jethawks. While the Storm have seen their coffers swell considerably thanks to Dizzee Rascal sporting their cap in global TV appearances, it seems the club aren’t nearly finished tapping into all-things-youth-culture. Sort of.
It seems the Storm have a 3rd mascot known as The Rally Cop. His program bio claims he received his training during the LA Riots of 1992, along with a stint toiling as a guard in an unnamed prison (shades of the Big Boss Man, anyone?). Trouble is, he looks less like a former peace officer….and more like a young Pat Fear.
(Henry Blacno and Adam Laroche duck for cover as Kerry Wood throws his first deadly pitch in Pittsburgh)
Pity the fan who has to depend on the listing Dodgers to beat the Cardinals so the Cubs, who lost again to the Pirates, 6-5 this afternoon, can maintain a half-game lead over St. Louis. Given the suspense I was in, you wonder if a half-game lead is worth it in late May anyway, but this was my Sunday. Fortunately, the Dodgers did win it in 10, 4-3. Since the Cubs couldn’t win it to maintain their own lead, my hat’s off to the Phillies for the 15-6 drubbing of the Astros, too. All I actually caught of the Cardinals and Dodgers was the last few innings, so Saito striking out Pujols has to be the Dodgers’ finest moment of the series (ok, Ethier’s extra innings clutch hit, too). Respect is due to the Bucs in this regard – despite the gist of The Sun-Times’ Gordon Wittenmeyer’s coverage, this was a matter of the Pirates beating the Cubs, not the Cubs losing it. Since the Cubs swept the Pirates twice this year, the Pirates, not to mention Astros and Cardinals, are all playing better. The NL Central is tightening up. The silver lining to ending this road trip? Tomorrow the Cubs host the Dodgers.
As to Saturday’s loss, the name Kerry Wood does tend to come up among reasonable people. After beaning a third lead-off batter in a save situation this year, Wood told The Sun-Times’ Gordon Wittenmeyer, ”The bottom line is you’ve got to get the job done, so learning curve or not, it’s game on,” he said. ”And you’ve got to win these games, especially the way the offense came back and gave us the lead. And the guys before me and after me in the bullpen threw the ball great.”
Isn’t it great when Kerry Wood sucks it up and takes full responsibility? Take notes, it’s called Character. And he does it three or four times a season. In Bull Durham, Nuke LaLoosh defends an out of control fastball as “announcing myself with authority.” When Kerry Wood does it, by beaning a hitter who turns into the Pirates’ winning run, it took less than a day for the Cubs’ site to put up a story of Piniella defending Wood’s job as the closer. Says Piniella, “The only thing that Woody has to do is, he’s hit the first hitter three times in the ninth inning, and it’s tough enough doing the closer’s job without putting yourself in trouble,” Piniella said. “We have to figure out how to help him not do that.”
Mmm, show him a rule book? Then again, what choice has Piniella got? Wood as middle-relief looks like a disaster that can’t last more an inning. Despite Cub hatin’ Bleacher Report’s long response to the Don’t-Blame-Wood brand of Stockholm Syndrome in Chicago, we’re stuck with the guy:
(Wood, his job is safe, but no one else is)
But Jim Hendry, who generally manages the lovable losers, decided that closing is easy. Heck, anyone can do it.
So, in preparing his championship buffet, he conveniently forgot to include a closer as part of the recipe. And that has left our stomachs aching, kneeling to the bobblehead gods as we look elsewhere to satisfy our hunger.
This should come as no surprise to Cubs fans. After all, Hendry was the architect of the Dempster-as-closer era in Chicago.
Closers are a different breed. They may put on their pants like everyone else, but that’s about where the similarities end. They have a certain panache, a kind of confident swagger and the critical ability to not only stare defeat in the face and laugh uproariously, but also to have a shot and a beer and forget about it ’til next time.
You will notice there was nothing about 95-mph fastballs or trick pitches in that job description. Oh yeah, those help, but they are clearly not enough …
Hendry looked at his pitching staff and noticed that he had three guys with the “stuff” to do the job. But nowhere did he factor in that none of them had ever done the job before. Nope, not even Howry, who had the most experience of the three, yet still not what you’d call any kind of demonstrated competency or expertise.
The Spokane Chiefs’ run as Memorial Cup champion couldn’t have been any more definitive – the WHL representative made the longest trip to Kitchener, beat all three teams they faced (including two from the home province) and then knocked off the host team in the final once again today.
Goaltender Dustin Tokarski stopped 53 of 54 shots in the 4-1 win, giving a U.S. team the title for the first time in a decade, when the now-woeful Portland Winterhawks were led by Brenden Morrow and Marian Hossa. The Chiefs last won it in 1991, shortly after George and Bobby Brett (yes, that George Brett) purchased the team.
Holy shit! (to quote the man himself): Chiefs captain Chris Bruton just dropped the Cup! And it totally snapped off of the base! How many years will the Chiefs have to go without another win before it’s called a curse?
Oh well, at least two players get to raise it simultaneously. Their enthusiasm certainly has not been dampened.
Update: Maybe not entirely his fault.
Captain Chris Bruton lifted the trophy over his head twice and kissed it and then as he was about to hand it to teammate Trevor Glass, the cup became separated from its heavy base, which fell to the ice.
While that prompted boos from spectators at Memorial Auditorium already disappointed that their home team lost, the good news is that it’s a replica trophy.
The one that has been handed out to the junior hockey champion since 1919 is in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
“It just kind of crumbled in my hands and I’m sure I’ll be all over YouTube and I’ll get e-mails for the rest of my life over that, but I don’t care because we won the Cup and that’s all that matters,” said Bruton.
“It’s just as beautiful and maybe more beautiful that we have that top off and we can drink from the cup a little easier.”
While Tampa and Baltimore are tied at 4 this afternoon through 7 innings, Rays manager Joe Maddon tells the St. Petersberg Times’ Marc Topkin, “I don’t think offensive players are evaluated enough in regard to how many runs they give up. If you really want to keep track, keep track of how many points they give up and then you can really find out this number that is produced at the end of the season.” And with that, the mad rush to ghostwrite Maddon’s book begins!
Hockey does a plus-minus rating, which reflects how many goals for and against a player is on the ice for. Maddon’s idea would be for more of a composite total of runs produced minus runs allowed. (And as quickly as the stats world evolves, there’s likely to be such a formula on the Web by the time you finish reading this.)
Errors are easy to track. Specifically, Maddon is interested in keeping better records of plays that should be made and are not, a broadening of the current range-factor ratings. He wants to log double plays that are not completed, fly balls that drop when outfielders break the wrong way and ground balls that go unfielded due to a lack of movement.
That idea is interesting enough and something that could be done anecdotally. But Maddon envisions more, a system of GPS-type devices over each stadium (or inside the roof) that track player movements.
Doing so, he said, would allow determining a player’s “true value or worth.”
And create something else for agents and teams to squabble over.
A day after Nick Evans proved to be a better postgame interview than Carlos Delgado (or at least that’s all we can conclude), the Mets lead the Rockies, 1-0 in the middle of the 4th in Colorado. John Maine has struck out 6 Rockies, and regardless of today’s result, Willie Randolph has already received a vote of confidence. From George Foster.
Watching Astros C Humberto Quintero bunt for a base hit during Round Rock’s PCL contest with Iowa Friday night was not, as it turned out, the strangest thing I’ve witnessed this baseball season. Instead, that honor would go the patrons of Chavez Ravine who repeatedly gave Juan Pierre a rousing ovation during last night’s 4-0 loss to St. Louis, and this was before the Dodger LF robbed Albert Pujols with a sliding catch in the 8th inning. If Pierre’s what passes for a fan favorite in Los Angeles at the moment, things are well and truly fucked. We’ve all read how Willie Randolph’s job is on the line for his failure to light a fire under various veterans, but what of Joe Torre’s passive response to Lt. Dangle going-thru-the-motions?
Despite fielding a product that’s almost unwatchable —- if the 2008 Mets are listless, the current Dodgers are baseball’s Karen Ann Quinlan — the McCourt Family deserve some rare credit. The last time I attended a Dodger game (Freeway Series, 2006) parking took nearly 90 minutes and just as much time elapsed while exiting the premises. Saturday night however, I made it from Hollywood to my seat in the top deck in under 40 minutes, with an departure time almost as reasonable on the way out. Clearly, the answers to LA’s crowd control problems lie in a) maintaining a steady evening temperature of 50 degrees and b) scheduling 81 home games vs. an opposing pitcher nearly as imposing as sure-thing Hall Of Famer Kyle Lohse (above).
The Dodger have promoted ‘06 first rounder Clayton Kershaw from Double-A Jacksonville to start this afternoon. Jon Wiseman helpfully points out Fernando Valenzuela was only 19 when he made his first big league start, to which I can only add, David Clyde was only 18. Young enough to start in the majors, but not old enough to attend last Friday’s Germs/White Flag/Black Fag tripleheader.
Though I’m sorry Ben Schwartz and I did not cross paths on my brief sojourn in L.A., I do understand that Ben had already attended Friday’s game. And being a family man, I’m sure he had better things to do last night.
Dick Martin, RIP. It would be pretty simplistic to say that “Laugh In”’s finest moments bridged the gap between Ernie Kovacs and the original SNL “Weekend Update”, but there you go, I’m saying just that looking back on Rowan & Martin thru slightly rose-colored lenses. Some of their bits have aged well, others less so, but at a particular point in time R&M gave a strong hint of comedy’s possibilities.
if the boasts of one Houston trainer are to be believed, the was an extra component to the quality-character-vibe in the Astros clubhouse, one Drayton McLane might wanna leave out of his personal biography. From the New York Daily News’ quartet of Thompson, O’Keefe, Red and Vinton. :
For years, Kelly Blair, the owner of 1-on-1 Elite Personal Fitness, bragged to friends and clients who worked out at his Texas gym that he supplied performance-enhancing drugs to professional athletes.
Blair, who was recently questioned by federal agents conducting the Roger Clemens perjury investigation, regaled visitors to his Pasadena gym with stories about providing drugs to Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Jeff Bagwell (above) and other professional athletes, according to sources. Bagwell, Pettitte and Clemens were teammates on the Houston Astros in 2004 and 2005.
“Kelly wanted everybody to know he worked with the big guys,” says one friend with close ties to Blair and the gym, who requested anonymity because that person feared retribution from Blair and his friends. “He wanted to be known as the guy behind the professional athletes.”
That is in stark contrast to the account he gave recently to a reporter from ESPN.com, in which he admitted to having dealt steroids and used steroids and HGH but said he told the investigators he did not provide HGH to Clemens or to Pettitte’s father, Tom. Blair, who told ESPN.com that Andy Pettitte visited his gym once, recently removed a photograph of Pettitte and himself from his Web site.
“I told them everything,” Blair said of his March interview with the FBI. “I told them what I done in the past. I didn’t get Tommy Pettitte growth hormone. I didn’t get Roger Clemens growth hormone.”
But another source close to Blair and the gym tells a different story. That source saw Blair load steroids and human growth hormone into a box with separate compartments for what the source said Blair described as each player’s drug regimen: a combination of Deca Durabolin, HGH and Winstrol in the compartments.
“There were three separate portions,” the source said. “Not all of them were the same because they were all taking different —-.”
When the source asked Blair if the drugs were for sale, the trainer said they were not.
“I asked him, ‘Hey, is this stuff for sale?’” the source said. And he was like, ‘No, that stuff’s going to Clemens, Bagwell and Pettitte.”
Clearly, this is just another case of a previously unmentioned player (Bags) allegedly doing whatever it took to stay in the lineup and support his teammates.
OK, it’s not quite Dick Howser’s dismissal in 1980, but even by modern standards of crazy managerial turnover, Chelsea’s decision to sack Avram Grant today is notable. Following a 2nd place finish and nearly winning Wednesday’s Champions League final, the firing of Grant, while hardly unexpected, speaks volumes about a level of expectations at Stamford Bridge that seems absolutely paralyzing. Imagine, if you will, a manager with the benefit of unlimited financial resources who also had to contend a critical fan base, not to mention print/electronic media who thought he should’ve appeared more passionate. Sound like anyone you know, Willie?
Fresh off his star turn in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”, The Guardian’s Russell Brand was penning Grant’s professional obituary as early as Friday :
How Avram Grant will be remembered seems unclear. Roman Abramovich was present for his side’s narrow defeat and typically you would imagine that a squad that came so close to success would be applauded and nurtured but I imagine in this case that the players will scatter around the globe and that Grant will quietly shuffle of into a den of bureaucracy – which will suit him all the better, he never looked happy on that touch line.
The incident that for me was emblematic of his reign came in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final when he attempted to retrieve a ball that had rolled toward the dug-out and was battered on to his arse by Steve Gerrard who was undertaking the same act of retrieval with considerably more gusto. It was a bit sad. He looked a bit like a mugged geriatric sat there all confused. The other folk on the Chelsea bench offered no chastisement of Gerrard and no comfort to Grant but just stared ahead and he was forced to do the same but you could see he was all shook up by the encounter and that his heart would’ve been racing.
I was actually on the Duke campus once, when I was maybe 12 years old. It was hot and empty and I didn’t get a good vibe from it (although they did let me run around in Cameron Indoor Arena), but I was 12 and it was August, which is a terrible time to be outdoors in North Carolina. The school itself, despite that visit, has never quite seemed real to me.
It’s in my nature not to like any program so relentlessly praised for its classiness and “wild and crazy” fans — who just look like doofy frat kids in blue afro wigs from where I’m sitting — and the presence of loathsome pitch-man, corporate motivator and (um) “leadership ethicist” Coach K certainly hasn’t helped. But while I generally don’t like Duke’s basketball team very much, I can’t say I had much recollection of Reggie Love, a way-undersized power forward who backed up Carlos Boozer on Duke’s 2001 National Championship team (and had tryouts as a receiver with the Packers and Cowboys). This is all a long way of saying that I see no reason why he’s not qualified to be “body man” for Senator Barack Obama. The Charlotte News-Observer’s Sean Mussenden describes Love’s new gig.
In 2006, [Love] was considering entering a training program for a Wall Street investment bank, when a friend alerted him to an opening in Obama’s Senate office in Washington. He got the job, and when Obama decided to run for president, moved on with him. Mentally, he said, the past 15 months on the campaign trail have been like playing four straight seasons of college sports. Physically, he’s feeling better than he did during the bruising NFL training camps…
At a campaign rally in Charlotte, Love’s hometown, the weekend before the North Carolina primary, Obama coaxed a reluctant Love onto the stage, calling him “one of the staffers I love the most. He is there, day in, day out, never complains, has always got a cheerful attitude,” Obama told the crowd. “He is going to be going places.”
Basketball rivalries in North Carolina are fierce, and hatred of Duke is intense in many pockets. But Love said he didn’t meet a single person who said they would not vote for Obama because of his decision to bring a Blue Devil on staff. “Even though the Duke-Carolina rivalry is fierce, there’s some civility to it. Much more so than with the (University of) Maryland fans,” he said.
…The job is both exhausting and frequently repetitive, and includes lots of menial jobs. At a restaurant in Greensboro on the eve of the North Carolina primary, Love held Obama’s box of hot wings while the candidate worked the crowd. Love carries his suit jacket when Obama gets warm.
The pressure is intense. He and other staff members are surrounded by hundreds of press members, so the fear of accidentally saying something to damage the campaign is real. Even seemingly trivial things get reported. For example, earlier this month Obama, Love and other staff members went to the back of the campaign plane to challenge members of the press to a game of Taboo, a word-association game. Players offer clues to teammates to get them to guess words. One of Love’s clues, “where gay people buy clothes” was reported by dozens of news outlets. Obama guessed Abercrombie & Fitch. The answer was The Gap.
It’s odd to see Love citing the relative “civility” of the UNC/Duke rivalry, considering that the first result on a Google search of his name is this, a post from the anti-Duke website “The Truth About Duke” that features photos of Love…having some things done to him while passed out drunk in the basement of a UNC frat house. I didn’t click through to the NSFW photos, but the post’s concluding sentence — “Hopefully we’ll hear chants of ‘Teabag’ throughout arenas this winter” — convinced me that that was a wise decision. While being photographed with some guy’s nuts on you seems like a pretty uncivil thing to me, Love’s right that it will no doubt seem relatively mild in comparison to whatever those swift boat f-cakes have in store for Barry O.
