THIS CAN'T BE GOOD

***OH NO, BOB MATTHEWS IS ON OUR SIDE***
In todays' D & C, Bob Matthews predicts that the Yanks will win between 103 & 114 games this season. Of course he also said that the Bombers have an "age" problem: Posada turns 39 this year, Jeter turns 36, A-Rod turns 35 and Rivera is 40. There it is, a nice out for Bob if the Yanks fall. The bottom line for Matthews: the Yanks will win or the Yanks will lose...and somehow he'll still be wrong. He is again predicting that Johnny Damon will be back with the Yanks. Yeah, right.

***RAUTINS IS THE MAN***
A lot of kudoes going out to the Orange for their defense, but as Vod pointed out, Rautins is the key. He is so active at the point, you get the feeling the opposition is telling him where the next pass is going. ...and he does it for the whole game. Between steals, assists and defense, he is All-American quality. Then add in his 3-point shot making and...wow.

***OH YEAH, THE REFS***
Being a former ref himself, Vod is especially tough on the "Z's", but he was spot-on here. Critics say if the refs called everything, the game would be a parade to the foul lines and very dull. I think the players would adjust and we might see actual basketball. The big call this year is 'Charging.' I still think this is the most difficult call, since refs have to watch players coming together from two different directions at the same time. The result: inconsistency. Of course, they ought to be able to do it, since there is no walking, carrying (or palming) or 3-second violations called. My particular favorite: Technical foul for hanging on the rim. It's supposed to be allowed to protect players from taking a nasty fall and that's all. I've seen players doing pull-ups and nothing is called. Why do they have to grab the rim at all? Showboating, that's why.

We complain about basketball refs and baseball umpires but not football refs. Why? well, part of it is that football is not a continuous action sport: one play, stop and everybody lines up again. You have the opportunity to 'review' each play. You can't stop a baseball play in the middle to see if a ball is fair or foul, you can't stop a basketball play to time a 3-second violation. I still think the quality of the officiating has deteriorated in the last few years.

The good news is, my 'editor' is recuperating and back on the job. Welcome back, Annie-O.

CP-