Of baseball logos, the Philadelphia Daily News’ Stan Hochman says the Boston Red Sox’s stockings are “appropriate for a laundromat but not a big-league baseball team.” The Indians, writes Hochman, have “the worst logo” in the game (a “humiliating caricature of a Native American”). But in the wake of Manny Ramirez’ brief stint for the PCL’s Albuquerque squad, the columnist finds much — perhaps too much — to admire about the Isotopes’ design (link swiped from Repoz and Baseball Think Factory)
Ramirez started his rehab, reluctantly, in Albuquerque. Reluctantly, perhaps, because he thought they told him he would be joining a team called the I’s-a-dopes, and Manny, being Manny, felt disrespected.
They talked softly because Ramirez totes a big stick. They patiently explained that the team was called the Isotopes, and that an isotope is any of two or more species of atoms of a chemical element with the same atomic number and position in the periodic table and nearly identical chemical behavior but with differing atomic mass.
Manny was OK with that, especially when they told him the air was thin and the fences cozy and the pitching mediocre. And yo, testosterone-breath, the team logo was cool, an abstract A with no crossbar. Just two of those slanted circles featuring an atom or a proton or a neuron, whatever.
It is a cool logo because it refers to the secret place outside of Albuquerque where scientists perfected an atomic bomb that blew away huge chunks of two Japanese cities and brought a swift end to World War II, making the world safe for democracy once again.
At one point during 2008’s disastrous 3-9 campaign, University Of Michigan footbal coach Rich Rodriguez told the assembled media hordes in Ann Arbor that he was sometimes tempted to tell his critics to “get a life”. Interviewed today by the Detroit News’ Angelique S. Chengelis, the former West Virginia educator now professes he “didn’t pay much attention” to such abuse.
Q . Michigan, as you know, isn’t used to a 3-9 season and no bowl. Were fans tough on you?
A . Not in person. There probably were a lot of things said out there and there may have been things written. Most of the fans I’ve talked to know we’re working on it. That’s the only thing I’ve said — be patient. Be patient because I think you’ll like what you see eventually. Hopefully it will be sooner than later, so hang in there with us.
Q . A lot of things you’ve said have been dissected …
A . There were a lot of things taken out of context. I’m not naïve enough to think anybody is happy with what went on in the past, but the only thing we’ve focused on is, here’s what we’ve got to do to get our program to where we’re competing for championships.
Q . Was the cupboard bare when you got to Michigan?
A . No, and I never said (that, and) you never heard any of the coaches say that.
Q . But it was inferred.
A . We were certainly inexperienced offensively, and that was obvious we didn’t have a lot of guys who had played a lot. The reason wasn’t because they didn’t have any talent, but there had been a whole lot of talent in front of them (that graduated). Last year, you didn’t know truly what you had until you played some games with the guys.
Q . Has any of the negative (comments) after leaving West Virginia and then having a 3-9 season hurt you?
A . Oh, yeah. If a coach says he’s totally immune to criticism, he’s lying. You want to make everybody happy, but you realize you can’t. It’s a humbling profession, and I’ve gotten humbled many times before, and I’ll get humbled many times in the future.
The criticism on the football part doesn’t hurt nearly as much as the criticism on the integrity part. That part completely bothers you.
Q . Michigan has 15 verbal commitments for 2010, including only two from Michigan. Michigan State’s six commitments are all from Michigan. Is it fair to say MSU has dominated in-state recruiting?
A . To judge on that and give a perception that one school is dominating the state … I don’t know how much validity there is to that. I know the last couple years, the recruiting classes we’ve got, what we’ve felt are the best players in the state. Our primary focus in recruiting starts in Michigan and expands in other areas of the Midwest and then south.
Q . But there seems to be the perception that Michigan State is taking over the state in recruiting
A . Last I checked, Mike Martin and Will Campbell were playing for Michigan.
Depending on your agenda, whoever you talk to, whatever their agenda is will lead the conversation. I feel pretty good about our reputation in state.
It took AOL Sports’ Jay Mariotti a couple of weeks to weigh in on Jerod Morris’ much-maligned essay on Raul Ibanez’ pre-DL offensive explosion, claiming “Morris made a fool of himself during a panel discussion on ESPN’s Outside The Lines.” That’s not exactly how I remember it, but the former Sun-Times Mascara Fiend would like the world to know he’s far above this naming-and-shaming sans evidence, bragging, “I don’t have to STRRRRRETTTTCCH THE TRUTH or make something up to be noticed as a columnist.” He can, however, cite the very moment sports journalism went down the toilet.
The irresponsibility began three years ago when blogger Will Leitch wrote on a Web site that he had “80 percent” faith in a source who said a Kansas City-based strength and conditioning coach was one of the redacted names in the Jason Grimsley report. “Does (the trainer’s) name sound familiar?” Leitch wrote. “If it doesn’t, he — and we assure you, this gives us no pleasure to write this — has been Albert Pujols’ personal trainer since before Pujols was drafted by the Cardinals in the 13th round of the 1999 draft.” A photo of Pujols was included in the blog item.
Here’s the problem: The trainer’s name wasn’t found anywhere in the report, meaning Leitch smeared the trainer and Pujols in one inaccurate swoop based on an “80 percent” certainty rate. I think we learn in our 11th-grade journalism class, if not out of the womb, that it’s irresponsible to tell a potentially damaging story if you’re not entirely certain it’s true. Eighty percent may as well be zero percent. The mess was exacerbated by MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann, who ran with the story and caused a national feeding frenzy, and not until Pujols threatened legal action did a shamed, humiliated Leitch emerge with a correction titled, “A Deeply Regrettable Wrong,” apologizing to the trainer in the process.
A reputable Web company would have fired him on the spot. Unfortunately, Leitch worked for a company that enjoyed the attention and allowed him to spew more lies about people. He profited from his fraudulence by writing a book read by a few of his blogging buddies.
What he did was open the door to the Jerod Morrises of the world.
I remember the incident in question rather well, particuarly as I commented on it at the time, as well as acknowledging Leitch’s subsequent apology (”a rare stand-up act from someone who has virtually redefined gutless over the past 12 months”). However, much as I enjoy Jay Mariotti calling out Will Leitch nearly three years after the fact, it goes beyond mere hyperbole to claim what even Will characterized as a huge gaffe, served as any sort of inspiration to Morris. The former threw leaked information (from a less than reputable source) into a public forum and watched the shit hit the fan. The latter engaged in what was meant to be a fairly reasoned analysis of Ibanez’ career trajectory and at no point directly accused the Phillies OF of anything other than getting off to an especially hot start. While Leitch received relatively little flack from the mainstream media or his blog bro’s at the time, Morris was fed to the wolves on national TV.
Of course, there’s something rather quaint about Mariotti accusing bloggers of not knowing their libel laws. What are these other “lies” Leitch was allowed to spew, and is Mariotti prepared to back up such an allegation? I’m not gonna nominate Will for any ethics awards, but that doesn’t excuse fabricating charges against him. And as Hugging Harold Reynolds accurately points out, regardless of where he made his name, Leitch is more of a peer of Mariotti’s than he is to the vast majority of sports bloggers.
While Leitch is widely praised as the poster boy of the sports blogosphere, he couldn’t be a further example of your typical blogger. Rather, Leitch’s educational background and career more closely reflect that of yours, Mr. Mariotti. A former editor at his college paper, he is/was a contributing editor at New York, and a contributor to The New York Times, GQ, Fast Company and Slate, and prior to that book you referenced, had already been twice published. The fact that he is deemed a blogger because he founded Deadspin is akin to you being deemed a blogger because you opine at FanHouse.
The former Ultimate Warrior aka Jim Hellwig has already weighed in with questionable remarks concerning one celebrity death — why should we be so lucky to believe he’d have nothing to say regarding the passing of Michael Jackson?
I imagine all the crying about the death of this recent drug-soused entertainment freak has most to do with the unfortunate inconvenience that the other drug-soused entertainment freaks now face. They will have to look for another local, safe and reputable babysitter. No longer will they be able to drop their kids off down the street at Jacko’s to be watched for the afternoon and spend some play time with his own kids.
I hate the paparazzi, and think they should all be shot for the obsessive invasion of privacy. But I’m really going miss ALL those TMZ and Entertainment Tonight video clips of Jacko’s and other celebrity kids playing together. You ever see any of those? Weren’t they great? Didn’t they make you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside? Worked for me. Every time I caught one it made me believe maybe he wasn’t a pedophile. After all, famous and rich entertainers, with all kinds of money to go to any expense to have things accurately checked out for themselves, wouldn’t let their own little babies near a pedophile…would they?!
Well, you gotta give him credit for one thing. He spent all his money (and then some) before he died. And that’s not an easy thing to calculate. Go ahead, ask your financial planner if he has a plan to pull it off. For all the horrific mismanagement of millions and millions and millions of dollars, here at the end, Jacko did a pretty damn good job at balancing the books in his favor. Sorry, at my new age and with the way the Obama economic plan is going, I couldn’t help but recognize this stunner.
Having said as early as last January he’d consider relocating to MSG, PG Jason Kidd is scheduled to meet with Knicks GM Donnie Walsh tomorrow afternoon writes the New York Daily News’ Frank Isola.
The Knicks could sign Kidd to the mid-level exception or try to negotiate a sign-and-trade with Dallas. Since the Mavs traded Devin Harris two seasons ago for Kidd, Dallas figures to make a strong push to re-sign Kidd or at least get compensation for having mortgaged its future.
The Knicks’ interest in signing Kidd is twofold. Team president Donnie Walsh is looking for an experienced floor leader as well as a player who could help recruit LeBron James should the Cavaliers’ superstar and league MVP become a free agent next summer.
Kidd would be an upgrade over incumbent starting point guard Chris Duhon, but there are obvious risks attached to signing a 37-year-old player.
And the Knicks also have to ask themselves why Kidd is so interested in joining a team that isn’t vying for a championship. The obvious concern is that Kidd simply wants to spend his twilight years living and going out in Manhattan.
If the Knicks don’t land Kidd, another option is restricted free agent Ramon Sessions, to whom the Bucks made a qualifying offer yesterday, enabling Milwaukee to match any bid.
Ahh, yes, the same Ramon Sessions who must be so thoroughly psyched to hang out with Brandon Jennings in training camp. Keep in mind, the Mavericks can do far better than the mid-level exception if they intend to hang onto Kidd, and observers in addition to Isola are pretty sure that’s exactly what they’d prefer to do.
The Mets confirmed yesterday that Beltran was in Vail, Colo., for a second opinion on his ailing right knee, this one from noted orthopedic surgeon Richard Steadman.
The ominous aspect of that for Beltran and the Mets is that Steadman is the inventor of microfracture knee surgery, an operation that — if he opts to have it — could sideline Beltran for the rest of the season, and potentially jeopardize his career.
Steadman, who runs the clinic where Alex Rodriguez’s hip surgery was performed this year, devised microfracture surgery in the 1990s to mimic missing cartilage in the patient’s knee.
The surgery, which involves drilling small holes so that blood and marrow clot to form a cartilage-like buffer between bones, has been done on numerous pro athletes.
As Hubbach points out, the list of those who’ve had this procedure includes some high profile recoveries (Amare Stoudemire, Jason Kidd) and a number of other basketball starlets whose careers are synonymous with frustration and/or early retirement (Allan Houston, Tracy McGrady, Jamal Mashburn). Along with losing two-fifths of their starting rotation and off-season acquisition J.J. Putz, in short succession the Mets have contemplated the possible end of Carlos Delgado’s career, can’t say with any certainty when Jose Reyes will return, and could now be denied their franchise centerfielder for well, forever. How’s that for breaking up the core, Mike Francesca?
(UPDATE : The New York Daily News’ Adam Rubin reports Dr. Steadman “agreed with the team medical staff’s assessment that the center fielder is suffering from a bone bruise….Steadman is expected to recommend Beltran remain inactive slightly longer than Mets doctor David Altchek initially suggested – until after the All-Star break.”)
[Ozzie's moonwalk tribute to Michael Jackson, who is reportedly gravely ill as we go to press, at Saturday's game. If Bill Veeck isn't around to hire midget players, Sox fans at least get this.]
In a story that appeared here Sunday, I mistakenly paraphrased White Sox mgr Ozzie Guillien on the subject of Cubs mgr Lou Piniella, whom he sided with, when Piniella publicly disciplined OF Milton Bradley during Saturday’s game. Ozzie noted that players should police their own dugout, not the managers and coaches, which I took to mean that he thought not just Bradley, but all modern players, are shit. Then Lou noted that it takes a Cubs appearance at Sox Park to sell the park out, and Ozzie, the South Side’s ambassador to the United States, was asked why:
After Cubs manager Lou Piniella pointed out the spike in attendance from 22,000 when the Dodgers faced the White Sox last week to a full house when the Cubs visited U.S. Cellular Field this weekend, Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was asked why attendance was so low for the Dodgers series.
“Because our fans are not stupid like Cubs fans,” Guillen said. “They know we’re [expletive].”
Guillen said Cubs fans will watch any game at Wrigley Field because “Wrigley Field is just a bar.”
A Carl Crawford two-run HR off Roy Halliday has Toronto trailing the Rays, 2-0, tonight at the Rogers Centre, days after the Jays’ Kevin Millar opined to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick that he and his mates are “definitely fortunate that you’re in another country and you’re playing for the Blue Jays and you’ve got three beat writers instead of 40.” The Globe & Mail’s Jeff Blair might lack for company, but not for effort when it comes to pointing out the depths to which Alex Rios and Vernon Wells have sunk.
Everybody’s pointed out how poorly Rios and Wells have played and how often they slump. It’s not like it’s just happened this season, you know? But this isn’t a baseball city: it’s a hockey city. It’s also a city without much success in any sport in recent years so, you know, there’s an element of ‘Yeah, whatever,’ at work here. We don’t have a gold standard for sports in Toronto; we have a bronze standard.
So, here you go Millar: Rios and Wells frequently suck – although it was everybody’s favourite Gritty Guy, John McDonald, who was caught off second base before Wells bounced out for the final out of yesterday’s 5-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies and there was nary a boo for Johnny Mac.
Anyhow, my sense is general manager J.P. Ricciardi’s all but at the bag of balls stage; that he’s decided any money saved in off-loading Rios or Wells is more important than what’s brought back in return, and that it would have been done by now had Travis Snider not been hurt. The Blue Jays are in danger of a serious revenue crunch that will impact their ability to do on-field business next year. Money’s not coming in, and Roy Halladay needs to be paid.
While it may be true Toronto’s not a baseball town, how often do we hear an MLB vet praise the competitive atmosphere in a bush league setting? Pirates starter Ian Snell K’d 17 Toledo Mud Hens yesterday and told Indianapolis play-by-play announcer Scott McCauley, “the fans are electric here. You can tell, even though they don’t say much or cheer much they pay attention to the game. It was just fun pitching in front of them again.”
A breathless McCauley wonders, “I wonder if the Pirates phones will be ringing tonight? Is anyone interested in a 27 year who sat at 94 miles per hour and hit 96 at least a dozen times this afternoon?” Where Have You Gone Andy Van Slyke’s Pat Lackey takes all this in and seems equally eager for another GM to take Snell off the Bucs’ hands (link courtesy Baseball Musings).
Snell tosses his teammates in Pittsburgh under the bus, completely slays Pirate fans, and then pushes his catchers under the same bus he already threw them under once, gets in the proverbial bus, backs over them several times, parks the bus on top of them, douses it with gasoline, and lights it on fire. Oh, but nothing against the guys up there. Talk about passive aggressive.
After all, that’s Sasha Vujacic’s job. LA Wave’s Betty Pleasant claims last week’s victory parade for the newly crowned NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers was marred by something even more distasteful than Pau Gasol’s dancing.
The City Council members were told to arrive at the parade staging area at 10 a.m. last Wednesday so they could get on the bus and ride in the parade. They boarded the bus at 10:30 a.m. and were still waiting to roll at 11 a.m. The council members, as well as the general public, became antsy and demanded to know what was the hold up and why was it taking so long to get the parade under way. (Some of the more fair-skinned council members were particularly annoyed, sitting in the sun, as they were.)
The cause of the hold-up was occurring adjacent to the locker room, where Kobe was refusing to ride on the City Council bus because the mayor was to ride on it. At the same time, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (above) , the consummate spotlight thief, was refusing to get on the City Council bus unless he got on with Kobe. Kobe loudly denounced the mayor in phrases that started with “I don’t like the …” and ended with “I’m not going to let him pimp my popularity!”
People in the Coliseum who knew nothing about the outside bus dust-up had their own tale to tell: They say the mayor introduced the members of the team and after he introduced Kobe, he extended his hand for the customary shake and Kobe strode right past him ignoring the outstretched hand. One elected official said the snub was clearly visible to everybody. “I didn’t understand it when I saw it, but after hearing about what happened with the bus, I understand it now,” the official said. So, is it sports or is it politics? In this city, it’s obviously one and the same.
Seriously, I cannot tell. If it’s the latter, leave it to Cowherd to prove he’s fully capable of supervising a website just as unreadable as those from Jim Rome and Scott Ferrall. If, however, someone is having a laugh at Cowherd’s expense, we might be about to witness a legal first ; Disney suing a blogger for anti-intellectual copyright violation.
Brian Roark, Kindle’s lawyer, said the wreck happened at 1:50 a.m. Wednesday. He said Kindle likely was text messaging and lost control of his car. He said the wreck caused about $8,700 of damage to the exterior wall of the building, according to the damage estimate provided by the apartment’s management company.
No one other than Kindle was hurt.
Kindle pushed his car onto the street, then went home, Roark said.
“He knew he was hurt at the time and that he needed to go home and go to bed,” Roark said.
Roark said Kindle contacted the apartment management as soon as he woke up Wednesday morning. He also was treated for the concussion later that day.
Kindle’s not merely an All-Big 12 linebacker, he’s pretty good at avoiding a breathalyzer. I’m no Dr. Conrad Murray, but it should be pointed out on Kindle’s behalf there’s no reason to avoid a good night’s sleep, even if you’ve been concussed.
At the time Minaya essentially said he was willing to overpay for Pedro, in the form of $52 million over four years, because of the dividends it would provide, because every kid in the Dominican Republic would want to sign with the Mets.
Since then, however, the only such signings of significance appear to be Fernando Martinez, 19-year-old shortstop Ruben Tejada and 17-year-old shortstop Wilmer Flores. That’s not exactly a pipeline of talent.
Scouts and executives in other organizations aren’t sure if the blame lies in a lack of scouting acumen or the Mets’ reluctance to spend on international signings, but they too expected the Pedro Martinez signing to have more of a ripple effect.
“By now I thought their system would be loaded with good (Latin) players,” one major league scouting director said recently. “But for whatever reason, it hasn’t happened.”
The same baseball people say the Mets do have attractive prospects at the lower levels of their minor-league system, Flores especially, and righthander Brad Holt, their first-round supplemental pick a year ago who was recently promoted to Double-A.
Either one would get the attention of a team looking to make a trade, but considering how few such prospects the Mets have, it hardly seems worth it to include them in quick-fix deals for someone like Adam Dunn, Nick Johnson or Aubrey Huff – or even Mark DeRosa, who was traded from the Indians to the Cardinals on Saturday.
Aside from the specifics of last night’s debacle, Faith & Fear In Flushing’s Jason Fry notes an abundance of weird Mets jerseys and tees in the Citi Field stands. with one sartorial choice in particular making a deep impression :
BURGOS 40? Really? With all the others, you can at least think of a point in time during which someone might have gotten a little too excited and headed to Modell’s. McReynolds was a capable player until he got done eating half of Arkansas, Miller was feisty and gritty if not particularly talented, and Roger Cedeno was decent everywhere except the outfield for a couple of months. Heck, even Jae Seo had a good game or two. But Ambiorix Burgos, owner of one win as a New York Met? Ambiorix Burgos who got hurt and then made news during his rehab from Tommy John surgery first by assaulting his girlfriend and then by being charged with hit-and-run in a case in which two women died? (And who then turned himself in to Dominican Republic officials wearing White Sox gear?) You’re a Mets fan, and this is a shirt you a) actually bought; b) kept through all that; and c) decided to wear to show your bona fides against the Yankees?
There’s only one explanation for the wearers of SEO and CEDENO and BURGOS shirts: These people are plants, Yankee fans sent to Citi Field in disguise to make us look bad. Which is unsportsmanlike and not terribly necessary: This weekend, the people down there on the field wearing Mets uniforms with their actual names on them had that covered.
(one of the least coveted giveaway items of recent memory ; May 5, 2006, Fred Meyer Mariners Collectible Train Night, The A-Train Car)
Or perhaps both? Seattle 3B Adrian Beltre is having surgery to remove bone chips in his left shoulder, a procedure that should keep him out of the M’s lineup for a lengthy stretch and possibly the rest of the season. “Nobody is going to deal for an aching, out-of-the-lineup third baseman before July 31″ warns the Seattle TImes’ Steve Kelley, who despite admitting Beltre’s offensive production for the Mariners pales in comparison to his 2004 career year in Los Angeles, insists, “he has played the game hard, and it wasn’t a lack of work that lowered his production.”
As an example of his approach to the game, Beltre played the last two games of this weekend’s series against the Dodgers, knowing that at least a dozen times a game the pain in his shoulder was going to feel like he had been stabbed.
He never was the Adrian Beltre the Mariners expected he’d be when they handed him $64 million, but he still is one of the best third basemen in the game. His plusses greatly outweigh his minuses.
So manager Don Wakamatsu now must seek a short-term solution at third, while general manager Jack Zduriencik looks long-term at the position.
(Memo to the manager: Don’t move first baseman Russell Branyan to third. He is settled where he is. Don’t mess with that. Move Chris Woodward there, and know at least you have a savvy professional replacing Beltre.)
The long-term solution at third base is more problematic, but time is Zduriencik’s ally. Before Beltre’s return, the direction of the season will be set.
The Mariners either will be in the race or out of it, and Zduriencik will have to decide if signing a healthy Beltre to a three- or four-year deal at a reasonable price is doable.
Is that better than a mid-August waiver deal that will leave the Mariners looking for the next third-base solution?
Thanks to Dave Gionfrido for unearthing the above YouToob clip, otherwise Shultz’ legacy might be limited to deafening John Stossel. As is, this piece of cinema vérité is remarkable on multiple levels. Given the old WWF’s penchant for employing wife beaters and tolerating the abuse of children, there’s something especially creepy about Shultz’ threats of domestic violence being played for laughs. The most disturbing part of this, however, is that despite being unable to afford proper trousers, Shultz lives in a house larger than mine.
[Milton Bradley's slow burn, just before his Gatorade machine smackdown.]
When I got e-mail yesterday asking if I knew about the Lou v Mitlon dispute, I hoped it was a ribald steam room story about Lou Costello and Milton Berle with the punchline, “Come on Milton, just take out enough to win.” Nope, Boo Bradley, for whom I should be on retainer at this point, spent part of the Cubs 8-7 loss yesterday to the hated pale hose arguing with umpires. Bradley’s right, he does get handed a different set of rules from umpires. Lou’s also right, Bradley’s wasting his time and hurting his team by engaging in fights he’ll never win. Lou, who spent the off-season reading “psychology” books he bought off Amazon, laid into Bradley and called him a “piece of shit” in the dugout and sent him to the showers – but not before Bradley went after the Cubs’ beleagured Gatorade machine. Well, the Sox’ s machine, as the Cubs’ Gatorade machine was removed for its own safety. Bradley sought solace in the local Chicago media, and Paul Sulliivan was only too happy to climb up on a chair to give Milton a shoulder to cry on, here. “If it’s a motivating tactic and he’s taking a different switch since people are saying he didn’t have fire, then I understand. I take a lot of heed in what he has to say. It matters. I take it to heart, and I’m better for it.” Glad to hear it. The Cubs then lost today, 6-0. Watching Lou lose his temper brought out some sympathy from the one man in Sox Park who knows a player beat down well, Ozzie Guillien. As Ozzie said:
“You know what’s funny, because players now, they’re scared to take charge because they might lose the relationship of his teammate,” Guillen said. They might lose a friendship. I remember when something was not right in the clubhouse or the dugout, players took care of that.
“Now, the manager and the coaches have got to be the guys to do it. I don’t think players now in baseball, they don’t have the guts to get on his teammates for something they do wrong. We’re missing that. I think that’s the reason Lou has to be the guy taking charge or me taking charge. I remember when players don’t like something about your teammate, they jump on your (rear) and get on it. If you like it, you like it. If you don’t, that’s the way we’re going to do stuff here. Now, the players are scared. I don’t say it’s respect. I think most of the time they’re scared about losing a relationship. I think the players don’t take charge anymore.
In other Cubs news, I’m officially voting for Geo Soto on my all-star ballot since Soto tested positive for a PID, performance inhibiting drug. ESPN reported Thursday that Soto tested + for marijuana during the World Baseball Classic (”claaaaaaaasic, dude!” he called it, while laughing stupidly), and has not served a day in jail. This news got tsunamied by another drug addict having a bad Thursday, so you may not have heard. Is there an asterisk for players who make their job harder? It should note that Soto’s BA .228 for the year, had he not been stoned, would be somehwere in the .260s right now. I hope the HOF judges keep that in mind while voting, is all I’m saying. Fans worried about his future can chill, as Soto says the dope has NOT killed his love of the game. “I am fully dedicated to the game of baseball and my teammates, and I apologize for any distraction and embarrassment this may cause them,” he said three times in a row.
Finally, as posited here for some time, the Ricketts’ family exclusive-not-exclusive-window-not-a-window-top-bid-not-a-bid saga is going nowhere fast. It finally brought about a leak from the non-Ricketts interests in the Cubs sale last week. Apparently, no Obama Sox-friendly stimulus money has trickled down to Mr. Ricketts, whose family day trading empire Ameritrade isn’t able to secure him the $500 mil he’s been short to buy the team. Hm, day trading cash looks pretty slim these days, if I can go by Lenny Dykstra’s reported money troubles. While reports claim Ricketts and Zell differ only on a mere $50 mil, Zell has opened up talks with New York based investment group lead by Marc Utay, who Sox fans will be happy to know is a graduate of the Harvard of the Northen suburbs, New Trier High School. Utay’s original bid was supposed to have been $900 mil or so, which Mark Cuban still felt was overpriced last January.
“I guess we’ll never know how Young Money would’ve fared in the Big Apple,” muses Posting & Toasting’s Seth after the New York Knicks’ decision to select Jordan Hill with Thursday’s 8th overall pick instead of PG Brandon Jennings, chosen at no. 10 by Milwaukee. “my imagination tells me that the intersection of Jennings’ mouth, D’Antoni’s offense, and the New York media could’ve been glorious” bemoans Seth, though the New York Post’s Peter Vecsey goes a tad further, saying of GM Donnie Walsh’s alleged infatuation with prying Ricky Rubio’s rights from Minnesota, “he has a better chance to acquire Steve Nash when he finally gets fed up with the shenanigans of the Suns.”
A talent scout tells me, “God created Jennings for D’Antoni’s system … minus the jump shot that needs improvement.” That’s straight from a friend of mine who knows a little basketball and has seen the kid play no less than 100 times throughout high school/AAU.
“Every year he was the best guard in his class,” said a Western Conference GM who tried to obtain a second No. 1 to get him before the Bucks did at No. 10. “Then he went to Italy to play. You know how it works, out of sight, out of mind.”
“Brandon is a freak athlete with a superior feel for the game and unteachable passing ability. He flaunts Pistol Pete flair, Isiah Thomas toughness with a nasty streak to match, doesn’t take crap from anybody and always has the backs of teammates. Plus he loves New York. Used to come to the city to play at Rucker Playground and in other outdoor leagues. He would’ve reinvigorated the Garden.
“The Rubio-Pistol comparisons are comical,” my friend snapped. “What, just because both are white, play guard, and have floppy hair? Rubio averages nine a game in Europe. Maravich averaged 44 at LSU. It’s insulting to Pete and his legacy they’re being compared.”
Of Bruce Springsteen’s headlining set at the Glastonbury Festival’s Pyramid Stage last night, the Guardian’s Dorian Lynskey — killing all chances of a guided tour of the Bronx from Peter Abraham — opines, “being bored, irritated and only occasionally thrilled by the man routinely called the most electrifying performer in rock is no fun at all…this critic felt like someone standing in front of a magic-eye picture and being told that, if he stares long enough, he will see the Statue of Liberty but who finds, two-and-a-half hours later, that it’s still just squiggly lines.” These John Cafferty sympathizers are everywhere, I tell ya.
For someone acclaimed as a perceptive blue-collar bard, he’s rarely far from self-parody. Many of his songs sound like numbers from a Broadway musical about a guy who works in a garage. If you drank a shot every time he sang the words work, dream, streets, highway or refinery, you would be unconscious within an hour (less than halfway through the set). During Working on a Dream (two shots), he begins testifying like a southern preacher, or, more accurately, like a Saturday Night Live comedian doing an impersonation of James Brown, about building a house of lurve, a building of soul and a loft extension of hope.
But then it seems that the whole point of Springsteen is that he’s a colossal, unashamed, scenery-chewing ham. Born to Run is both the most preposterous song in his catalogue and the most heart-thumpingly joyous. Dancing in the Dark and Glory Days are elevated, rather than marred, by their corny use-before-1985 synth riffs. More of a problem than the garage-guy lyrics, the oh-lawdy business and Clarence “Big Man” Clemons’s reliably ghastly sax solos, is the realisation that, despite Springsteen’s stature, he has very few songs that have entered the mass consciousness. Only the three just mentioned – along with Because the Night and Thunder Road – excite mass singing all the way to the back. Calls for Born in the USA go unanswered. Fair enough, because it’s a good song massacred by its bombastic arrangement and is now avoided by the very man who made it, but during long stretches of bar-band rock and American Land’s horrible Irish jig, one wished he would throw another bone to the agnostics.
I don’t wanna argue with Mr. Lynskey, though I saw a Springsteen show earlier this year and found most of the cheesey O.D. bits he describes to be of the kidding-around variety. But as we should all have an informed opinion rather than rely upon the crackpot testimony of self-styled experts, here’s some exclusive footage of last night’s Glastonbury show. Decide for yourself!
After being humbled at home on successive days by the Yankees’ C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, the Mets’ lack of power hitting appears to be less of a problem compared to their lack of any hitting in general (1 run, 4 combined hits over the last 18 innings). But as Dugout Central’s Paul Catalano points out, the not-so-Amazins’ 46 total HR’s this season reflect “a line-up that doesn’t have opposing pitchers waking up in the middle of the night screaming in fear.” Catalano’s solution? “The Mets should try to trade for Michael Cuddyer by offering the Twins SS prospect Wilmer Flores.” (link courtesy Repoz and Baseball Think Factory)
Michael Cuddyer, when healthy, is a solid RF, with a good arm and, more importantly from the Mets prospective, power. While he can play a number of positions, RF is where he is best suited—he has had season of 18 and 19 assists from RF, and can handle the new CitiField well. As of this writing, Cuddyer is slugging .514, or what would be 2nd on the Mets squad behind the injured Beltran. Also, he has an OPS of .878, which would place him 4rd behind Wright and Beltran and the soon to be injured Sheffield.
The Twins have a glut of outfielders—and trading Cuddyer could clear space for other able players. Right now, the Twins are breaking in young outfielders Delmon Young and Carlos Gomez (of the Mets farm system), both young and talented and who need time to grow. The Twins also have Jason Kubel and Denard Span—productive players both as Kubel is slugging .558 and Span is batting .287 with 12 stolen bases.
What the Twins don’t have is a blue-chip shortstop, either at the Majors or in the minor leagues. Nick Punto and Brendan Harris are fine shortstops, but franchise rocks they are not. Franchise rocks like Jose Reyes. Reyes is the engine that makes the Mets go. And at 26, he will be said engine for a long time. Which means SS Wilmer Flores, the Mets biggest prospect according to Baseball America, will be blocked by the time he is ready to hit the Majors. While only 17, Flores is on the fast track to the majors.
Considering Catalano admits Flores “projects to have the same kind of power A-Rod or Ripken had at the shortstop position”, this is a somewhat curious proposition. The Mets already gave up on a highly touted prospect (ok, Lastings Milledge) to acquire Ryan Church, and the esteemed columnist from Dugout Central suggests following that move with trading one of the organization’s few youthful bargaining chips at the exact moment Jose Reyes’ long term prognosis is questionable. Can we really presume Flores’ path to the big leagues is going to blocked by Reyes in 2-3 years’ time?
While Flores and his Savannah Gnats teammates ended a three game winning streak with Saturday’s 4-2 loss to Charleston, the other big Mets minor league news this morning concerns Oliver Perez, who’s scheduled to make a minor league start for Single-A Brooklyn (NY-Penn) today at 5pm. Ollie’s Keyspan Park debut precedes Yo La Tengo’s by 15 days, and while the inconsistent left-hander will certainly command a higher fee for his performance, the odds are pretty good Yo La Tengo will have a longer outing, even with the constraints of opening for Wilco.
Typically, South Side Polish parades clear the street before proceeding, but Grand Marshal AJ Pierzynski would have none of it yesterday after Gordon Beckham’s walk-off single. The delirious receiver spearheaded a celebratory procession to second base that put the young infielder on his heels. In his moment the kid showed less resolve than the groom at the wedding I was attending, but to be fair, the betrothed did not have to contend with the vision of a hulking, armored Pole bearing down at full speed.
But enough about the bridesmaids. As tends to happen with the Crosstown tilts, Game 2, Electric Boogaloo was a wild affair of eight lead changes, questionable defense, and excitement aplenty. Mark Buehrle (5.2 IP 6H 5R 3BB 3K) kept a lid on the Cubs until Beckham’s throwing error in the 3rd put Andres Blacno in scoring position, followed by another bad throw by Alexei Ramirez that allowed Bradley to reach. A Buehrle balk in the 5th set up the tying run to come in on a Soriano sac fly.
But the bottom of the frame had Ryan Dempster (5IP 8H 5R 3BB 2K) heading for the showers after giving up a bomb to Scott Podsednik, a sigle to Ramirez, a walk to Thome, hitting Konerko and a 2-run single to AJ.
The North Siders came right back with their own 3-run inning in the 6th, ending Buehrle’s day with a walk and a single, promoting Ozzie to call upon DJ Carrasco, who promptly gave up a two-run double to Soriano, who scored on the subsequent single by Theriot.
To answer yet again, Dewayne Wise stretched out a triple when he sent an errant Aaron Heilman heater over Fukudome’s head, scoring on one of Podsednik’s 4-for-5 PAs and tying it back up. As I traveled to Hickory Hills in solid traffic on the Stevenson, I wondered if these extraordinary proceedings had mustered any excitement from Joe Buck. I glumly read the Bush ‘04 bumper stcker in front of me, knowing I would never know.
One more run apeiece in the 8th and it was time to head to the banquet hall. So I missed Beckham’s single, I missed the celebration, and I missed the happy outcome of Bobby Jenks (W 2-2) second win. However, in his honor, I did eat an extra piece of chicken.
Ronni’s Amazins are surprisingly, still in a pennant race despite having been outscored 24-1 in their last two outings versus the Yankees. Unless you actually believe the NL East can be taken with 83 wins, there’s not much to celebrate. And at the risk of beating a dead horse, while no one I’ve spoken to envies the Bronx’s new launching pad, who amongst us predicted a 2009 campaign in which David Wright might not hit 20 home runs?
Some results of drug tests conducted during the 2009 World Baseball Classic have been released and it turns out The Aruban Nightmare, aka Sidney Ponson tested positive for a banned stimulant. Currently on the DL for Omaha Royals, Ponson is banned from international competition for two years, but if you can name a single international tournament he’d have competed in during that time, you’re a bigger baseball fan than me. Royals GM Dayton Moore describes the offending substance as “a diet pill”, so perhaps Ponson is entitled to a refund on top of the time off.
Cubs receiver Geovany Soto — he of the game-winning, 3-run HR in this afternoon’s 5-4 defeat of the host White Sox — is said to have tested positive for marijuana during the WBC. Manager Lou Piniella quickly spoke in support of his catcher, telling ESPN Chicago, “A lot of people (smoke marijuana). You can even buy it in California from a pharmacy.” Would it be so difficult for Lou to provide this pharmacy’s name and address?
“Look, I have smoked dope one time in my life,” Piniella said before the Cubs faced the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. “And it didn’t do a damn thing for me, and I never tried it again. I’m fortunate because of that.
Piniella believes the weight of knowing that revelation would come out affected Soto, who is the reigning National League rookie of the year and has struggled this season.
“I wasn’t aware of this until three or four days ago, and if I had been aware of it, truthfully, I would have encouraged Geo to speak about this much sooner to get it off his chest,” Piniella said. “I think it’s really had a negative effect on his performance.
“It was supposed to come out a few times and they delayed it, and I don’t think it’s done any good. I would have encouraged the player to come out and say this is what’s going to come out, this is what’s happened, I’m embarrassed about it and it’s not going to happen again. I’m done with it. Basically, that would have been the best approach, as far as I’m concerned.”
Not to mock the skipper but what’s up with these people who say they’ve tried a drug once and never again? Isn’t it pretty common knowledge you can’t really get a full grasp of a drug’s capabilities until you’ve used it fairly consistently for a few weeks, if not months? And is it really too late for Lou to give weed another try? Surely watching Carlos Marmol pitch is grounds for a medical exemption.
“Vince Carter’s exploits down the stretch in 2005 gave Nets fans the feeling that anything was possible on the basketball court.” So recalls Nothing But Nets’ Matthew McQueeny, with the dump-frenzied Nets’ decision to send Carter to Orlando yesterday, only hastening the following realization : “you understand the trade on its face, but it feels like the Nets will only be more inconsequential now.”
There is a somber feeling about the end of this era, flawed as it was but surely with its moments. Because it also seems to portend to something happening beyond basketball for the Nets. (It seems, as their incessant catch phrase goes) It’s about…salary dumps…and surviving. Rod Thorns seems to be making the trades that he so often was on the other end of shrewdly making. Sure, Courtney Lee is good and young and showed some things. But in earlier Nets eras, the Rafer Alstons’ and the Tony Batties’ sound a lot like the Eric Williams’ and Aaron Williams’ – and the “contracts” of Alonzo Mourning. Vince was traded by the Nets the way he seemingly was brought to New Jersey.
And for that, it peppers this trade with holes. His window is closing on primetime, as his contract numbers escalate, but when the Nets make a trade like this – while substantially laying off their business-side workers (and advance scouts!) and the contracts of their assistant coaches – it feels not only like a salary dump, but a dump for survival. As if, even with their immediate salary relief, it might still not be enough. Unfortunately, it does like it’s “more than a game.” That was their catch phrase to signify all the entertainment options you could find at a Nets game in somewhat more flush times, but it could be the basketball state of affairs now.
In the hours following the confirmation of Michael Jackson’s passing yesterday at the age of 50, I heard the occasion’s impact compared to that of the deaths of John Lennon, Kurt Cobain and Elvis Presley. Remarkably, CNN, Fox and MSBNC didn’t bother to seek out the New York Post’s Mike Vaccaro, who while insisting “If you were to ask me about the music that formed me, shaped me I’d probably throw 20 to 25 names at you before it even occurred to me to mention Jackson” (”Springsteen, the Beatles, the Stones, Pearl Jam, Billy Joel, Jim Croce, Sinatra, U2, the Police”), managed to admit he felt “scarily, frighteningly identical” yesterday as he did on August 2, 1979, “when my friend Kevin Walsh frantically knocked on the door of my parents’ house in West Hempstead to breathlessly break the news that Thurman Munson had died in a plane crash.”
(the King Of Squat)
I was not a Yankee fan, I was in the midst of some endlessly fruitless Mets summers, but I was still at an age (or maybe it was simply an era) when it wasn’t required by law to hate one team if you liked the other. And so of course I was enamored with Munson, because who couldn’t be? Who wouldn’t like a player who played that hard, that hurt, with that much heart, who got his uniform dirty and seemed willing to do anything necessary to win baseball games? Maybe I would have rather have had Steve Henderson, Doug Flynn, Lee Mazzilli and Craig Swan over to my house to have a catch because of the uniform they wore, but I sure wasn’t above feeling a gaping hole somewhere inside when Kevin and I flicked on Warner Wolf for the awful details.
When you hear Jackson’s music, it really doesn’t matter how odd he became in his later years, how troubling it was to see what he’d become, to read another news item about another lawsuit and another pile of debt, all of that. What matters is he soundtrack he offered our lives, with his voice, with his pen, with his unbelievable gift. That’s what I think about now. Thurman Munson might not have been my first choice as a Little League dinner speaker (not if Skip Lockwood was available), just as “Thriller” wouldn’t be the record I make sure I take with me to the “Lost” island (not as long as I still have “Abbey Road” and a couple hundred other candidates). But the loss, in its own way, is just as significant. I do hope he finds a sense of peace now, wherever he is.
“A lot of things boiled up, and I didn’t handle the release of those very well.” Ya think? At least Braves reliever Jeff Bennett had the presence of mind to punch a door with his non-pitching hand, otherwise he’d rival Kevin Brown in the selfish/stupidity sweepstakes. From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s David O’Brien :
Bennett will have surgery to insert a pin in the break in his fifth metacarpal below the base of the pinky finger.
“I’m ashamed of myself,” he said after seeing the Braves’ hand specialist Thursday. “This is a professional sport; you handle yourself in a professional manner. I didn’t do that. … I’m just hopeful that [manager] Bobby [Cox] and [general manager] Frank [Wren] will give me another chance.
“It comes out of frustration, spur of the moment,” Cox said. “It’s not the first time somebody broke a hand or a toe out of frustration. It’s good that he cares; it’s not good if you break something.”
He entered Wednesday game with the Yankees in the 7th inning with bases loaded and got ahead in the count 0-and-2 against Rodriguez before throwing a fastball that was driven to center field.
Bennett said he punched a door after the inning, and was in such a state of anger, he couldn’t remember doing it until he saw the dent.
The bone was broken all the way through, and a bump rose beneath the skin. Bennett said he pushed the bone back into place, didn’t tell anyone what happened, and went back out and pitched the seventh.
He gave up a homer to Nick Swisher in the seventh but made it through the inning. About 30 minutes later, Bennett finally told a team trainer what he had done. He said he waited because he was afraid and embarrassed.
He was also asked about whether being picked by the ‘Wolves might inspire him to stay in Europe.
He said:”I don’t know yet. I have to think about that … I’m going to talk to my agent about that and we’re going to see.” Read the rest of this entry »
“One year after shipping out Richard Jefferson for Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons , a controversial deal that has not exactly yielded dividends,” writes the Newark Star-Ledger’s Dave D’Alessandro, “the Nets are now parting with the player who helped saved the franchise from oblivion during the cold winter of ‘04-05.” After dealing Jefferson and Jason Kidd, the Nets have cut all ties with their mid-decade success by trading Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Rafer Alston, power forward Tony Battie, and rookie shooting guard Courtney Lee. From D’Alessandro :
It is now likely that the Nets will lean toward drafting a two-guard to take Carter’s place, such as Terrence Williams. If that isn’t the case, Lee — a very promising player who was otherwise abused by Kobe Bryant in the NBA Finals — will fight Chris Douglas-Roberts for the starting job.
Equally plausible is that the Nets have opened the door for another power forward, with Anderson heading south. That could provide the necessary impetus to draft Tyler Hansbrough.
Both Alston ($5.25M) and Battie ($6.2M) are in the final seasons of their contract, while Carter carries a salary of $16.1 million this year and $17.5 million for 2010-11.
Considering that salaries of Lee and Anderson basically cancel each other out, that means the Nets are shaving $17.5 million from their cap in 2010-11. Put another way, they have earmarked a scant $29 million for seven players heading into the historic free agent market of 2010.
Warriors coach Don Nelson denies reports Golden State have a deal in place to send the rights to the no. 7 pick in tonight’s draft along with Andris Biedrins to rebuilding Phoenix in exchange for Amare Stoudemire. If the Suns seem an unlikely playoff candidate for spring 2010, perhaps it would make more sense to shop Steve Nash before he’s another day older?
Really, why stop at mocking Jews, racism and exhbitionism? Eric Collins and Steve Lyons butted heads a few times during last night’s telecast of of the Dodgers at the White Sox, and let’s just say x-rays of Psycho’s head would reveal nothing. Here’s a few of the highlights, as collected by Sons Of Steve Garvey (link swiped from Repoz and Baseball Think Factory)
Lyons: Do you follow some of the other whacked-out statistical categories that are nouveau to the game of baseball?
Collins: I do. It’s —
Lyons: What are they?
Collins: Well, you got defensive — for the first time ever you have —
Lyons: The WHIP —
Collins: For the first time ever you have categories that measure defense. The UZR: Ultimate Zone Rating. It makes a difference. Everyone talked about it last year. Tampa Bay making it to the post-season because of pitching and defense. Defense matters nowadays.
Lyons: It’s fictional. There is a place, a very small place, for the computer geeks that are now taking over the game of baseball. There is a place, but it’s a small place. We’re seeing way too much of it. UZR. And your WHIPs and your OPSes. They don’t show me what kind of heart the guy has. BABIP?
Collins: Batting Average on Balls in Play?
Lyons: Stupid. Doesn’t tell me if the guy is a player. Doesn’t tell me if the guy can play. Is he a gamer? Does he get dirty? Does he go out there and play hard? Is he a good teammate? None of that stuff tells me any of that. That’s the guy I want.
Collins: That would be your Derek Jeter, we were talking about an inning ago.
Lyons: I’ll take your computer and I’ll toss it right off this balcony here.
Collins: Every computer ever designed would have told you that Alex Rodriguez was a better defender than Derek Jeter when he first came to the Yankees, yet Derek Jeter continued to play shortstop. And that didn’t help the Yankees at all defensively.
Three-one pitch.
But Derek Jeter is a gamer and he’s —
Lyons: I’ll let you take that up with Joe Torre.
Collins: I bet he’d have an interesting thought on that. Maybe that’ll be my task for tomorrow.
Lyons: I hope you still have a job after that conversation.
The Dodgers and White Sox are currently tied at 5-5 in the last of the 9th at the Cell. I’ll not bother to link to the box score, because it would tell you absolutely nothing about any of the participants’ willingness to get dirty.
The following tragic tale from the Delaware County Times’ Marlene DiGiacamo wouldn’t ordinarily be fodder for the sports blogs where it not for a prominent name that surfaces in the 4th graph.
As soulful sobbing echoed through the courtroom from the victim’s relatives, a judge Tuesday told Jamar Evans that when he pulled the trigger and snuffed out the life of another youth in a senseless street shooting, he was “horrendously wrong.”
Judge Ann Osborne sentenced Evans, 18, of Chester to nine to 20 years in jail, to be followed by eight years of probation, in the Nov. 25, 2007, fatal shooting in Chester Township. Marcus Reason, 19, was gunned down by Evans, who opened fire from a car.
The car, in which Evans was a passenger and from where the fatal shot was fired, was driven by his cousin, Tyreke Evans (above), a standout basketball player this past season for the University of Memphis. He was also a star at the now-defunct American Christian School.
Tyreke Evans was not charged in connection with the case and had been expected to testify in his cousin’s behalf, but has not been present during any of the county court proceedings.
The New York Daily News’ Frank Isola suggests the Knicks are trying to choose between Tyreke Evans and Duke’s Gerald Henderson with 8th overall selection in tonight’s NBA Draft. There’s probably not a tactful way to ask Evans about his cousin’s sentencing this evening, but in the event he slips out of the top 10, it should at the very least be mentioned during ESPN’s coverage.
Steven Wells aka Swells aka Seething Wells, the Yorkshire spoken word artist, author, music journalist and sporting critic, has passed away at the age of 49 following a long battle with lympathic cancer. Wells’ columns for the Guardian —- written from his subsequent Philadelphia home — have been quoted at length in CSTB, and perhaps some enterprising person will compile a stack of them into a book of some sort. To call Wells a contrarian is only skimming the surface of his skills. There have been few scribes on either side of the pond — in the music or sports spheres — who could match his wit, or maintained bullshit detectors so finely attuned. He’ll be sorely missed and our thoughts go out to his family, friends and colleagues.
Of Wednesday night’s thoroughly expected swap sending Shaquille O’Neal to Cleveland in exchange for Ben Wallace(’s contract?), Sasha Pavlovic and the 46th overall pick in tonight’s NBA Draft, The Plain-Dealer’s Brian WIndhorst gushes, “The Cavs just traded for an All-NBA player and a Hall of Famer …not Delonte West. Not J.J. Hickerson.” Of course, Danny Ferry also acquired a center who will be 38 years old during the Cavs’ next playoff run, and one who takes considerable exception to any implication he’s far past his prime. See below :
While the Daily News’ Frank Isola reports the Knicks are on the brink of dealing Quentin Richardson for Darko Milicic, Newsday’s Alan Hahn — a predictor, if not a proponent of Stephen Curry coming to MSG, has alleged New York target Ricky Rubio slipping no further than no. 5 overall in tomorrow night’s NBA Draft.
Oklahoma City could go for Rubio at No. 3, but James Harden (above) is just a better fit. The Thunder is one of the few drum-tight organizations in the draft. Absolutely zero is being leaked from their braintrust, so everything is pure speculation, but one thing we have consistently heard over the past few weeks is the Thunder are not interested in sliding Russell Westbrook out of the point guard spot. That leaves Rubio on the board for Sacramento at No. 4, but wait…the latest word is the Kings will pass on Rubio and go for Tyreke Evans. That sets up Minnesota, who targeted Rubio with the trade-up and they could get him at No. 5.
That leaves the sixth pick as a curious one. If the T-Wolves get Rubio, why would they draft another guard with the sixth pick? But they have an eye on Harden or Evans as shooting guards if they are there. If not, total mystery
“At least I’m not the first to fall for this sort of thing.” a sheepish Dirk Notwitzki tells Der Spiegal’s Cathrin Gilbert as the details of his former fiancee Cristal Taylor aka Christian Trevino’s criminal past become newspaper & blog fodder around the world. Dirk tells Taylor he’s not set foot in his Dallas home since the May 6 morning of Taylor’s arrest, and recalls his dad calling the relationship “a lapse in taste”. Hey, we’ve all been there!
Nowitzki says that he always enjoyed not having to worry about anything. Even as a child, his mother, Helga, made all of his decisions for him, protecting her chicks like a mother hen. Nowadays, says Nowitzki, he wonders whether it was such a good idea to have taken so little responsibility.
Every morning, he would drive out of the garage of his $6 million (€4.3 million) mansion — not far from where former President George W. Bush’s neighborhood now lives — in his $130,000 (€93,000) Mercedes AMG, and drive to the Mavericks’ parking garage. In the evening, he would drive home again. Perhaps this is the only path a gifted athlete can take if he hopes to remain successful. Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher chose the same path. Perhaps it is simply the easiest path. At any rate, it isn’t dangerous, because by staying out of the limelight, a player is able to avoid the critics, even as he loses his ability to recognize danger and to make emotional decisions
Randy Stevens is a detective in Beaumont. They call him the “Crime Stopper.” He has been dealing with the Taylor case for the last four years. It’s the craziest story he has ever heard, says Stevens. It began when he was contacted by a dentist who had been waiting for months to be paid about $10,000 (€7,140) for working on Taylor’s teeth. She was apparently still living in Woodlands, north of Houston, at the time, says Stevens. He tried to meet her there four times, but was unsuccessful. He notified a special government agency in Nashville, Tennessee, and then added the case to his files, complete with Taylor’s mug shot. If he hadn’t seen a report on television about the NBA star and his mysterious fiancée in early May, he would never have found Taylor. “Her tactics were simply too professional,” says the Crime Stopper.
Nowitzki is sitting in his father’s leather chair, wearing shorts but no shoes. He isn’t quite sure what will happen next. He is still considering whether to play for Germany at the European championship in Poland in September. When he flies back to Dallas in September, Nowitzki will have to find a new life. He would probably be better off forgetting everything else.
Earlier today, noted global soccer expert Colin Cowherd mentioned the US v. Spain semi had yet to kick off, but “Spain’s already ahead, 4-0″.
Hopefully, ESPN’s midafternoon mouthpiece will in the future, restrict his commentary to subjects in which he has actual expertise. Not sure how he’ll fill more than 30 seconds a day with such content, but when in doubt, there’s always his boner for Courtney Love.
If we’ve learned anything during Danny Ainge’s tenure with the Celtics, it is that he is not afraid to make bold moves, and that he develops a plan, and he carries it out. During his early years with the club, he talked constantly about acquiring assets and young talent with the aim of then trading it for veteran stars. He turned that thinking into Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.
He’s mentioned since then that he purposely “stacked” the contracts of Allen, Pierce and Garnett to expire in in consecutive years so that the team would have the ability to replace their stars as they aged. He may have had a specific plan in place for the coming years. Did Rondo’s emergence perhaps threaten to throw a wrench into those plans? If the Celtics need to give Rondo a max contract, will that prevent them from making some other move? Owner Wyc Grousbeck was also on WEEI recently and gushed about the possibility of a scenario next summer in which the Celtics would be able to offer a maximum contract to a free agent. The scenario would seem to be contingent on Rondo not getting that max money, or even close to it. Who knew that when we were marveling at Rondo’s play against the Bulls, we were perhaps watching him play his way right out of town?
So perhaps Ainge is trying to move Rondo for as much as he can so that the Celtics will still be in position to do whatever he has in mind to do next summer? That’s about the only thing I can think of, though it doesn’t make any sense for Ainge to publicly point out the flaws in Rondo’s game if he is truly trying to trade him.
“Alcohol has been the favorite pastime of the National Pastime going back to when everybody was humming ‘Slide, Kelly Slide’” insists the Philadelphia Daily News’ Bill Conlin, citing his own firsthand knowledge of 1890’s baseball. That said, while Conlin is an oft ridiculed figure around these parts, he makes a rather salient point when insisting, “the Steroid Era, where testing rules and penalties are bartered as it unfolds, is a stark disconnect when measured against the carnage of drunken driving.”
Alcohol-related accidents cause a death every half-hour and an injury every 2 minutes. Alcohol-related crashes claim an average of 17,000 victims a year. You’ve probably read that criminal justice is a popular major for college football players. I can see why. Such a pervasive culture of thuggery has developed around Joe Paterno’s “Grand Experiment” at Penn State, I wondered if the State College drunk tank has blocking sleds.
Listen, I’m not going all preachy on you. I was bounced from Bucknell University 55 years ago for an alcohol-related incident. No whiny appeals in those days, just a bus ticket handed to me the next morning by the Dean of Men.
Former Eagles wideout Donté Stallworth killed a pedestrian in Miami on March 14 while driving drunk. Boy, the prosecutor really stuck it to him – 30 whole days in jail for taking a life due to his criminal negligence. Oh, he’ll have some additional inconvenience – 2 years of house arrest, 8 more on probation and 1,000 hours community service. Bottom line, Donté ducked a 15-year stretch. The NFL immediately suspended him indefinitely.
So, on one hand a guy who commited vehicular manslaughter gets a relative wrist slap. On the other, Manny Ramirez tested positive in a random spring-training test and was suspended 50 games. He also will forfeit $7.7 million of his $25 million salary.
Try to remember, however, that the toll caused by alcohol-related auto accidents blows away the yearly KIA figures suffered in our ongoing two-front wars. But nobody has founded MAAJ – Mothers Against Anabolic Juicing. Not yet.
While I’m pleased Conlin resisted the temptation to compare Stallworth’s case to that of Michael Vick, I’m not sure I see the analogy between the criminal charges faced by the Browns WR and violating another sport’s drug policy. If Conlin would like to see Major League Baseball implement a Vehicular Homicide policy, he might be satisfied knowing most states already have one of their own in place. Though the columnist is technically correct in scoffing there’s no Mothers Against Anabolic Juicing, surely a journalist as well informed as Conlin is familiar with the Taylor Hoot0n Foundation?
Apparently it’ll take more than the owner’s daughter and more money than God to keep Phil Jackson in the Laker fold next season. It appears the aging Zen Master would like to entrust road games to assistant Kurt Rambis, in an arrangement as cushy as it is unprecedented. From the LA Times’ Broderick Turner :
“This is not new to me,” Rambis (above), who was one of the final candidates for the Sacramento Kings head coaching job, said late Tuesday night. “This is one of the many ideas we kicked around a little.
“The hardest part about the job is the travel. It’s especially hard when you have physical issues. There’s some travel that are particularly grueling. He can take tough road trips off. Phil is probably at a point where he is looking to wind his career down and I’m looking to wind my career up.”
While doing a radio interview with 710 AM Tuesday morning, Jackson reiterated what he told reporters last Friday at the team’s training facility in El Segundo — that his health would be the only reason to keep him from coaching next season.
Jackson, who turns 64 in September, told the radio station that the organization has “toyed” with the idea of him skipping some road games and with having Rambis take over the head coaching duties in his place.
Jackson has had two hip-replacement surgeries, an angioplasty and gout during his two stints coaching the Lakers.
“Everybody benefits,” Rambis said. “Phil remains fresh without having the season and the travel wear him down. It gives me valuable coaching experience. What the future holds beyond Phil, I don’t know. But this keeps continuity of what we’re doing, what we do defensively and offensively.”
“If the infidels are gonna be there anyhow, you might as well make money off them in your official team store.” So mused a half serious Dan Steinberg of DC Sports Bog upon noticing the Nationals took it upon themselves to flog Red Sox merchandise in their team shop during this week’s influx of Massholes. Said initiative comes shortly on the heels of Steinberg calling Nats president Stan Kasten out for his crass attempts at target marketing — to Phillies phans.
All of the above issues pale in comparison to the franchise’s on-field woes, but can you possibly imagine, for instance, the Red Sox returning the favor? Or the Phillies openly inviting fans of a division rival to fill their ballpark? I’m sure every penny counts in DC, but even a 20-48 team deserves some smidgeon of a home field advantage.
Other than Brown, we’re having trouble thinking of many/any athletes of any race or creed or ethnicity in the past generation who have risked compromising their careers in the name of promoting social progress.
Indeed, most athletes have opted to tread cautiously when it comes to things that potentially could undermine their earning power.
“These guys must be great,” exults The Landry Hat about Free Reign, an aspiring metal quartet featuring Dallas Cowboys offensive linemen Leonard Davis, Marc Colombo and Cory Proctor. “They are so good that ESPN refused to release even a few seconds of the live footage of these guys blasting their free rock music.” That’s certainly one way of looking at it (and sadly, their videos aren’t so hard to find). You could also say Free Reign are so accomplished, they’ve signed with the same Australian label responsible for bringing you the vocal stylings of such arias as Tim “Ripper” Owens and Chris Jericho (despite their sole upcoming gig being a DeMarcus Ware fundraiser). Musical attributes aside, I take this as yet another sign Wade Phillips has no control over his locker room. Surely during Jimmy Johnson’s heyday, a band like this could’ve at least done a one-off with Metalblade.
Along with tipping the Knicks to try and move up to the no. 2 spot in Thursday’s NBA Draft in order to select PG Ricky Rubio, the New York Post’s Peter Vecsey confesses he’s witnessed very little NCAA hoops of late, and such defers to the wisdom of Clibhoops’ Jim Clibanoff.
How can Tyler Hansbrough be UNC’s all-time leading scorer and be expected by many experts to be this June’s Rashard Lewis — last invited draftee sitting in the green room? At best, he might crash the lottery at No. 13 or 14.
“The longer a guy stays in school, the less attractive he becomes to most of the pundits!” Clibanoff replied. “Less room to dream about that magical and intoxicating expression called ‘upside.’
“Regrettably, they discount experience, basketball IQ and NBA-readiness — resulting from time spent in college — and focus on how great a player he could become as opposed to how devoid he is of the aforementioned recipe items.
“Hansbrough may indeed have a capped upside, but his corresponding DOWNSIDE is not nearly as deep as many of the pups that will precede him on draft night.”
As for Hansbrough’s lack of respect by the authorities, an East Coast GM declared he’d love to have him on his team. “He plays all-out, will give you extra possessions by taking a charge, be productive in the pick-and-pop game and shoots 85 percent from the free throw line.
“On the other hand, he has small hands, short arms and is a soft finisher. I like him . . . but not like that. I envision him as an upgraded version of Mark Madsen.”
Last week, I linked to a story by the Wall Street Journal’s Jeff Opdyke about Stephen Constantine, a British-born coach who specializes in turning around benighted national soccer programs in blighted nations. It didn’t occur to me that Opdyke’s piece might’ve been part of a WSJ series on soccer in the worst nations on earth, but the arrival today of an un-bylined piece in the Journal about soccer in Myanmar makes me wonder if it is. It’s a good idea for a series, either way.
The article, credited to “A WSJ Staff Reporter,” details the scene at a soccer game in Yangon, Myanmar. Myanmar is pretty far down there in both the UN Development and FIFA rankings. The article works very well as a vivid look at the persistence of this particular pastime even in flat-broke, super-repressive, ultra-nutty — that is: governed by totally unaccountable astrology-obsessed generals — nations, but the thing that’s most interesting to me in the story actually only barely gets mentioned. That’s the presence of international players in Burma’s league.
With salaries topping out at $1,000 a week, it wouldn’t seem worth it to play soccer in one of the saddest and most profoundly effed-up countries out there. Not to belabor the point, but this is a failed state so failed that it’s not even clear what its (now-discredited) ideology of choice is — there’s presumably something Marxist going on there, but the impression I got after reading George Packer’s terrific story on the country in last August’s New Yorker is that there isn’t really anything at all guiding or governing the military junta’s decisions besides an all-encompassing urge to repress and the aforementioned astrology obsession. The government buys arms from North Korea and helps other nations do the same; the generals let citizens die after last year’s typhoons because they didn’t want to admit NGOs or health organizations — it’s that awesomely awful a place. And yet the author mentions that there are Argentines and Cameroonians and Ivoirians playing in the league, and even interviews a few. At the risk of taking anything away from a very interesting piece that obviously took a lot of balls to research and write, I want to know about those guys. Even without that, though, it’s definitely worth a read. Here’s a taste:
As Myanmar’s economy sank under international sanctions and the military’s neglect, the country’s soccer prowess waned. By the 1990s, the national team was often a source of embarrassment, and in 2000, it abruptly withdrew from qualifying matches for the World Cup 2002 — a retreat for which it offered no explanation at the time. International soccer authorities then disqualified the team from the 2006 Cup as well.
As the national team fizzled, fans had to settle for amateur league games played by squads linked to government departments, with names such as “Central Supply and Transport Depot” and “Forestry.”
The new league aims to change that. In an email, Ko Soe Moe, a spokesman for the Myanmar Football Federation, said the league was created because “Myanmar football needs to change to professional to get more achievements in international competitions.” He also said the league wants “to “create entertainment for local fans.”
…Much of the action is slow, and daily downpours, common in Yangon this time of year, turn many games into mudfests. But there are also moments of drama and skill. “Football in this manner could only be seen before” in European leagues, said Soe Moe, a furniture salesman who attends matches.
(a degrading choice of cap, perhaps, but surely Barry cannot be expected to rock a Mitchell & Ness Bullets hat in public?)
If you type the phrase “Mayor Crackhead” into Google, the first search result that comes up is “Marion Barry – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.” In spite of this one-dimensional view of his long political history, former D.C. hizzoner Marion Barry — currently serving as a City Councilor for the District’s 8th Ward — is a sought after interviewee, with Hogs Haven quizzing the iconic politico on a number of Washington-related sporting topics.
KevinE: Dan Snyder recently won a lawsuit regarding the use of the name “Redskins,” from your youth and growing up, you played a part in the Civil Rights Movement and have had to deal with many race issues, what is your take on the “Redskins” mascot name and do you think it is offensive to Native Americans?
Marion Barry: I agree with the Native Americans. I think it’s degrading and disrespectful. This happened in a time when you didn’t have that kind of attitude going on…you know, an era that went on that should have been changed to another name. You know, it’s true, and there’s others, the [Cleveland] Indians and other places. That’s that. Now we have to figure out how we can get the Redskins back in the District of Columbia. I think it’s going to be very, very difficult. For one, Snyder has a long term lease, he’s invested millions of dollars in his enterprise. He’s making money, and to come back to the district is my view wishful thinking, even though I’d like it to happen. It’s wishful thinking.
KevinE: You were Mayor for multiple Super Bowls. Do have any good stories from those times?
Marion Barry: Well, probably the most exciting one was when we played in Tampa Bay…when we played Oakland. Lots of activities outside of the game. Friday and Saturday. A lot of friends about. It was just a great time. That’s when Jack Kent Cooke was really riding high [laughing].
KevinE: I know back then it was very social where politicians mingled with players often. Was that the case?
Marion Barry: Oh yea. Very much. In fact I stayed at the hotel with the Redskins players. That gave me a chance. Oh yea, I knew a lot of them personally.
KevinE: The Fun Bunch?
Marion Barry: [laughing] Yea! hehe. I remember the John Riggins years too!! [laughing] He was on board at Tampa Bay. In fact, a friend of mine and I were sitting at this bar/nightclub celebrating Friday night and he kept saying “Riggins who?! Riggins who?! I said, “Man, stop all that noise, you know? Put your money where your mouth is. So I put down a $100.” … “Riggy who! Riggy who! Riggy who! Riggy who!” And I said, “Let’s go one more!” and he said “No, I’m not going…I’m already dead because I lost my money” because Oakland beat us. But the whole atmosphere was different then then it is now. Not just because of the situation. NFL is more business now than the will to play and the passion. With these millions of dollars out there.
David Roth wrote effusively last year of Thierry Henry’s clinical performance during an star-studded L.E.S friendly, and it just so happens Steve Nash and Claudio Reyna are hosting the charity event, “Showdown In Chinatown” once again tomorrow afternoon in Lower Manhattan’s Roosevelt Park.
Nash’s soccer credentials as a former Tottenham trialist have been mentioned in this space before, but for those unconvinced the two-time NBA MVP can go toe-to-toe with the world’s football greats…the above video won’t change your thinking.
Of the fledgling United Football League’s register-yourself-as-an-agent web page, reader Cosgrove Watt, asks, “has Darren Heitner been made aware of this unique and exciting opportunity yet?” And while I agree this could well represent Darren’s best shot at busting out of the web model / pro bowler ghetto, I’m more impressed with other aspects of the UFL’s business model. To wit, fielding 4 teams (NY, SF, Vegas, Orlando) playing in 7 different cities (the above four, plus Hartford, LA and Sacramento). If the star power of Jim Fassell and Denny Green doesn’t bring enough credibility to the upstart league, how about their grandiose plans for a New York stadium?
The league’s site audaciously claims “the most appealing venue may be the Mets’ new baseball stadium Citi Field in Willets Point in the New York City borough of Queens” (can’t you just imagine Jeff Wilpon blushing?), while adding hopefully, “the new Yankee Stadium, set to open spring 2009 with seating for 53,000, would also be ideal for a UFL team.” It’s a bit of a climb-down after those two buildings, however.
Another possible UFL venue is Laurence Wein Stadium at Columbia University in Manhattan. The stadium currently seats 16,500 with the possibility for expansion. Placing a UFL team in Wein stadium would make the UFL team the first major professional football team to play in Manhattan.
Hofstra University’s James M. Shuart Stadium, which opened in 1962 on Long Island, currently seats 15,000 but could also be expanded. Within the past decade, Shuart Stadium has received a new artificial turf playing surface, several sections of new chair-back seating, a new sound system and a $3.8 million Field House in the south end zone. Shuart Stadium also served as a home for the Long Island Rough Riders of professional soccer’s A-League.
Other possible UFL venues include Major League Soccer’s Red Bull New York, which is currently building a 25,000 seat stadium in Harrison, New Jersey (11 miles from New York City) and is planned to open in the summer of 2009; Rutgers Stadium (40 miles south of New York City) with a seating capacity of 41,500; and Princeton Stadium (50 miles south of New York City) which seats nearly 28,000.
(above : neither the fire truck nor the car carrying Jose Reyes)
I’m not sure what’s least surprising, that Mets trainer Ray Ramirez personally escorted Jose Reyes into a life-threatning situation, or that Omar Minaya wasn’t driving the vehicle that hit Ramirez and Reyes. The Star-Ledger’s Matt Gelb reported the following shortly after first-ballot Hall Of Famer Brian Stokes successfully tamed Albert Pujols.
Injured shortstop Jose Reyes and Mets trainer Ray Ramirez were rear-ended by a firetruck on the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge sometime Monday while driving to the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan for a check-up visit, Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said.
The Mets said nothing about the accident until starting pitcher Tim Redding unknowingly spilled the beans after Monday’s 6-4 win over St. Louis.
“I got here about 10 after 4 and a lot of things were going on,” Redding said. “Apparently a lot of things were going on all over the city. Our shortstop and our trainer, who’s been working his butt off to keep us on the field, got into an accident. Carlos was getting an MRI and being placed on the DL. And people were being moved, brought up and sent all over the place. So it was a whirlwind day.”
While Redding clearly isn’t the kind of person you’d want to trust with a company secret, he’s performed capably in 4 of his 7 starts. The 6.08 ERA doesn’t exactly generate wild confidence in his abilities, but in light of Oliver Perez’ most recent rehab start, Redding might well stay in the rotation for a bit.
“Has anyone noticed that its impossible to trust a single word uttered about coaching changes, the draft, trades and even celebration parties these days ?” asks Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban via his Blog Maverick. Actually, no, but that’s what I get for reading Alan Hahn most afternoons. Still, Cuban insists, “bloggers, sports websites and even the print media have gotten so desperate they seem to have come to the conclusion that fabricated stories, passed off as rumors, are a better way to drive traffic and create awareness of a website or blog than actual reporting.” Admittedly, it’s a hell of a business model, but it won’t really work unless you pair said rumors with photos culled from FHM.com.
Unfortunately, ESPN and local newspapers, radio and TV media have become the patsies of bloggers. If some random blogger reports that “he has heard that a trade of Joe for John is being discussed”, then the traditional media, as they have told me many times “is requested by their editor to run it down and see if its real”. Its almost like a sad joke. How do you make an ESPN reporter jump ? Make up something and put it on your blog. Somewhere a bunch of sports bloggers are playing a drinking game. Chug if the other guys made up trade rumor makes the ESPN crawl.
How to stop it ? ESPN.com puts up a page of blacklisted blogs and websites who’s posts they wont comment on or report on in any way. It will create a short term surge of traffic for those sites, but then they will go away as the proprietors of the sites realize that being discredited is not a good thing.
Man, where to start here? Does the Owner With A Boner actually believe anyone from the traditional media is actively seeking out “random bloggers” (as opposed to say, widely trafficked blogs that have more readers than their own newspapers’ websites)? Rather than encourage ESPN to put up a page of blogs the WWL routinely follows, Cuban decrees that Bristol U. — home of the frequent Disney cross-promotions — has the authority to determine who is credible and who isn’t. An organization that provides Mike Lupica and Skip Bayless with a national television audience is qualified to name and shame irresponsible bloggers? And what’s with the bizarre zeal for policing the same constituency that so actively supports Cuban’s properties? This is roughly akin to Harvey Levin bemoaning the public’s fascination with celebrities.
“If those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it, as George Santayana portentously proclaimed, count Kevin Kouzmanoff as a contrarian argument” testifies the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Tim O’Sullivan. “I think it’s important to have short-term memory and forget about it,” explains the Padres third baseman. “There’s no use to dwell on it. It doesn’t do you any good,” to which O’Sullivan seems to concur (”his recent results make a convincing case for strategic amnesia”)
Since his batting average plunged to .219 on June 6, Kouzmanoff has hit .314 with five home runs and 18 RBI in 13 games. For a fortnight, at least, he has been a force, so much so that even his outs are being hit harder.
The goal, Kouzmanoff said, is to approach each plate appearance as an isolated event, as if it were the first of the game. This is a goal easier articulated than accomplished, though, and the degree of difficulty can only be compounded by the pressures associated with performing in the big leagues.
In a seven-point plan presented last month in these pages, I suggested that Kouzmanoff be shipped out (to Triple-A Portland, or somewhere) in order to accommodate Chase Headley’s return to third base from left field.
Saturday night, Kouzmanoff reported to Petco Park to find Headley scheduled to play his position, and against a left-handed starter. With the Padres exploring options in advance of an anticipated glut of outfielders, and with Kouzmanoff due to become eligible for salary arbitration at season’s end, a ballplayer inclined to dwell on things might have read the tea leaves as both transparent and troubling.
Not Kouzmanoff. At least not yet. He takes pride in being able to contribute with his glove when he’s not hitting. Yet true to form, he doesn’t dwell on plays of the past. Asked to account for having made only one error to date, Kouzmanoff appeared puzzled yesterday afternoon.
(to be perfectly fair, the above photograph was not taken in Atlanta)
What’s it like, following a baseball club whose home field advantage is routinely compromised by hordes of exiles and traveling fans bellowing their support for the visiting side? That’s the situation Deep Left Field’s Sam Hutcheson finds himself in, advising his fellow Braves rooters to avoid Turner Field for tonight’s clash with Chicago (” If there’s any slug of baseball fandom that will appear for a Monday rain-out replay and make the park a miserable hell of drunken buffoonery, rest assured, it is Cubs fans”). And’s he’s only just getting started (link courtesy Repoz and Baseball Think Factory)
We follow that septic sludge with Bud Selig’s most joyous fuck you to Atlanta fans, our yearly parade of soul-grindingly annoying fans from the NEC. Three games of transplanted Yankee fans soiling the seats of our fair grounds, followed immediately by an equal dose of their paternal twins from Boston. Oh, joyous day. How can we, the unworthy denizens of Atlanta ever thank you Mr. Selig? If not for your ever-brilliant notion of making the World Series essentially meaningless by playing the leagues against one another in the middle of the summer we’d never have the chance to see all of the loud, obnoxious sprawl-eating invaders gathered together in one place like this! You’re the best.
I hate interleague play. I hate people who think a baseball stadium full of families is the proper place to get drunk and moan “Yoooouuuuuuk” like a water buffalo in heat. I hate anyone who thinks Derek Jeter deserves anything more than a good garroting. All of which pales as shadow compared to the burning summer sun that is my hatred for the man who unleashed this unholy calvacade upon us.
(will the The Special One make the jump to the WWL? Better yet, when does Mario Rosenstock let loose on Bill Belichick?)
Earlier this month, Setanta’s failure to make a contracted payment to the SPL was described by this author as “the worst news to hit the football biz since the On Digital debacle.” Of course, that was before I imagined Trey Wingo hosting a Sunday soccer roundtable discussion. From the Daily Mail :
ESPN have secured a clean sweep of beleaguered Setanta’s Barclays Premier League TV packages for the next four seasons.
Sportsmail understands that the Disney-owned TV channel, who already broadcast two sports channels to the UK on the Sky platform, will be the owners of both Setanta’s packages for next season – a total of 46 games.
Sky have purchased the five other bundles for season 2010-11 and were not allowed to buy the sixth.
Setanta lost the right to broadcast the matches on Friday after failing to meet a deadline for a £10million payment to the Premier League
Setanta has around 1.2m subscribers, but this is below the 1.9m it needs to break even, and it is currently thought to be running at a loss of nearly £100m a year.
It suspended new subscriptions earlier this month, prompting fears over the future of the business, and also recently missed a £3million payment to the Scottish Premier League.
(Scott Hatteberg, apparently not ready for his close-up)
Variety’s Peter Bart and Michael Fleming report Steven Soderbergh’s hotly anticipated film adaptation of Michael Lewis’ “Moneyball” has been placed in turnaround by Columbia Pictures. Who knew Joe Morgan had so much influence in Hollywood?
The move came after Columbia’s Amy Pascal read a rewrite that Soderbergh did to Steven Zaillian’s script and found it very different from the earlier scripts she championed. Pascal was uncomfortable enough with how the vision had changed that she applied the brakes.
If a new financier doesn’t emerge by today, Columbia will re-examine options that include replacing Soderbergh (and hoping Pitt doesn’t ankle), delaying the film until Pascal and the filmmaker find themselves in synch on the script or pulling the plug.
Even in the climate of heightened studio caution, the turnaround news on “Moneyball” is surprising given that the project had reached the equivalent of third base. It was just 96 hours before the participants were ready to take the field, following three months of prep and with camera tests completed and cast and budget in place.
Aside from actors like Brad Pitt and Demetri Martin, Soderbergh is using real ballplayers — such as former A’s Scott Hatteberg and David Justice — as actors, and he also has shot interviews with such ballplayers as Beane’s former Mets teammates Lenny Dykstra, Mookie Wilson and Darryl Strawberry. Those vignettes would be interspersed in the film.While Soderbergh is confident his take will work visually, Columbia brass had doubts on a film that costs north of $50 million.
The following item from the New York Daily News’ Teri Thompson, Michael O’Keefe and Nathaniel Vinto is a day old and follows an earlier report you’ve probably already seen. But I’ll use any excuse, however flimsy, to link Hall Of Famer Joe Morgan to a sex scandal. 19 current or former NHL players are suing golf course developer Ken Jowdy, alleging he misued millions of dollars that could’ve otherwise been spent…I dunno, helping Sammy Hagar launch a new line of adult diapers?
According to the lawsuit, Jowdy used the hockey players’ money to purchase private planes to ferry notables such as Roger Clemens, Reggie Jackson, Pete Rose and Joe Morgan around the country; threw parties for the athletes and other clients, complete with “porn stars, escorts, strippers, party girls and other women”; and provided athletes and other friends with “gratuitous extravagant private air travel, five-star hotel accommodations, luxury home rentals, unlimited food and beverage expenses, golf tournaments and lavish parties several times a year.”
Jowdy denies all that. “Roger Clemens, Reggie Jackson, Joe Morgan and Pete Rose are all friends of mine. They’ve taken time out of their schedules, at my request, to attend functions in Mexico to promote our projects,” he told The News. “They have been gracious with their time and efforts in showing support to me, and have been gracious in playing golf and socializing with prospective buyers. At no time have they ever participated in, or has there ever existed, parties with hookers, strippers or porn stars.”
Ronald Richards, the California attorney who filed the suit on behalf of the hockey players, told the Daily News that he has photographs that support allegations that Jowdy squandered the hockey players’ money on wild parties, although he acknowledged the photos did not prove anything illegal or unseemly occurred. But the main issue, he said, is that Jowdy blew his clients’ money and has nothing to show for it.
Jowdy claims he has barely met the plaintiffs, who he says made their investments via his business-partner-turned nemesis Phil Kenner (above), who he says blocked all access to the hockey players. Jowdy says Kenner, an Arizona businessman who calls himself a “lifestyle coach” and has served as a financial adviser to many of the athletes who are plaintiffs in the case, is behind the lawsuit.
Hot Shit College Student submits the above, recently unearthed 1982 video of the Misfits in Kalamazoo as “a document of what probably was the most uncool night (possibly afternoon) of this child’s life.” On the other hand, how many parents are bold enough to eschewing the teachings of Dr.’s Spock and Bettleheim in favor of Robo?
