Sunday, December 29, 2013

A Long Quote...


The NCAA’s Big Gay Choice: Chick-fil-A or Equality? - By Dean Obeidallah in the Daily Beast, December 7, 2013
The NCAA is facing a momentous decision in 2014: Will it stop partnering with Chick-fil-A—or revise its bylaws so it can support discrimination against gay Americans?
The choice won’t be easy. The NCAA has a long history of doing business with Chick-fil-A. Tuesday night is the 16th annual Chick fil-A Bowl, which the NCAA’s selection committee earlier this year named “one of an elite group of six bowl games to host the new College Football Playoff” system that kicks off in 2014.
But let’s be brutally honest. Chick-fil-A is the corporate poster child for opposition to same-sex marriage. And it appears to have chosen that position deliberately. Not only has Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy said his company supports “the biblical definition of the family unit,” but the company’s charitable arm also has donated millions to anti-LGBT organizations.
And earlier this year, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, Cathy voiced his disapproval with a tweet: “Sad day for our nation; founding fathers would be ashamed of our gen. to abandon wisdom of the ages re: cornerstone of strong societies.”
Although I passionately disagree with Cathy on same-sex marriage, my issue is not with him. Indeed, I defend his right to practice his faith and advocate for his political and religious views.
My issue is with the NCAA, the governing body for college sporting events, founded more than 100 years ago to protect student athletes. The NCAA’s own bylaws appear to prevent it from partnering with Chick-fil-A. Specifically, Section 2.6, “The Principle of Nondiscrimination,” provides that “The Association shall promote an atmosphere of respect for and sensitivity to the dignity of every person.”
NCAA bylaws also mandate a spirit of inclusiveness by expressly prohibiting discrimination for any reason: “It is the policy of the Association to refrain from discrimination with respect to its governance policies, educational programs, activities and employment policies including on the basis of age, color, disability, gender, national origin, race, religion, creed or sexual orientation.”
Given the court decisions this year on both the federal and state level, from a legal point of view one can no longer argue that laws opposing same-sex marriage are anything but discrimination against Americans based solely upon their sexual orientation. The U.S. Supreme Court decision in June striking down DOMA found that the law “violates basic due process and equal protection principles applicable to the Federal Government” by excluding gay married couples from federal benefits offered to straight married couples.
Courts in New Mexico, New Jersey, Utah, and Ohio have come to similar conclusions since then. Just a week ago, the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled: “Barring individuals from marrying and depriving them of the rights, protections, and responsibilities of civil marriage solely because of their sexual orientation violates the Equal Protection Clause…”
And last week, federal district court Judge Richard Shelby struck down not only Utah’s statutes banning same-sex marriage but also an amendment to the state’s constitution passed by voters in 2004. True, the case is on appeal, but its legal reasoning is still persuasive. As Judge Shelby noted, the U.S. Supreme Court has long held both that the right to marry is “fundamental” and that “a person must be free to make personal decisions related to marriage without unjustified government interference.”
Judge Shelby also made a compelling point about the similarities between past court cases addressing laws barring interracial marriage and present-day cases dealing with prohibitions against same-sex marriage. Shelby noted that in 1966, attorneys for the commonwealth of Virginia, seeking to uphold laws that banned interracial marriage in Loving v. Virginia, were making arguments that “are almost identical to the assertions made by the State of Utah in support of Utah’s laws prohibiting same-sex marriage.” Both, for example, argued that the kind of marriage they opposed “constitutes a threat to society.”
But the statement from Judge Shelby that may be the most troubling, from the point of view of the NCAA’s bylaws, is this: Barring same-sex marriage “demeans the dignity of same-sex couples.” The NCAA bylaws, meanwhile, demand that it “shall promote an atmosphere of respect for and sensitivity to the dignity of every person.”
How can the NCAA promote an “atmosphere of respect” and the “dignity of every person” when it allows an NCAA sporting event to be named for a company that publicly opposes equality for all Americans solely based on sexual orientation?
Bottom line: Dan Cathy and other conservatives have the constitutional right to advocate banning gay marriage. They have just chosen the Bible over the U.S. Constitution.
So will the NCAA choose to stand for equality by following its bylaws, which call for inclusiveness and nondiscrimination, or will it continue its business relationship with Chick-fil-A and revise its bylaws accordingly? The ball is now in the NCAA’s court.




Tuesday, December 24, 2013

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

The whole family will be getting together this week for our Christmas holiday. I'll be busy preparing for our "Christmas" on Friday and a party on Saturday, so I won't be posting for about a week. In the meantime...

***SURPRISING HEADLINES***
"Cowboys confident Orton can win"
   Romo is out for the rest of the season, so Dallas has to start their backup in a winner-take-all game on Sunday. So what did you think they were going to say? "We don't have a prayer. Don't know why Orton is even on the roster."

"Alex Cabrera sets Venezuelan home run record"
   Cabrera, who 'allegedly' used performance-enhancing drugs, hit his 21st homer, breaking a 30 year old record. For 3 of the homers, he didn't even use a bat, and again denied ever using drugs.

"Dodgers sign reliever Chris Perez"
   Perez, who is known as much for his brash statements as his pitching prowess, should fit in nicely with the Dodgers. If LA could deal with Manny Ramirez, nobody will even notice Perez.

"Rangers will regret Sin-Soo Choo  deal"
   Yeah, right. I give you Prince Fielder - 7 more years for $166 million and Alex Rodriquez - 10 years for $250 million. They must like debt.

"Grant Balfour on Yankees radar"
   In Baltimore's eyes, Balfour failed his physical and voided their deal. Now, the Yankees are supposedly are interested. Sure, they sign up the aged and the infirm, why not the lame, too? Jim Thome is looking for a job. How about it Cashman? He's only 43.

"Enough is enough"
   Tim Keown, ESPN.com, thinks the Hall of Fame brouhaha is ridiculous. He doesn't think the use of PEDs should have anything to do with a players selection. His basic belief is, "If they have the numbers, let them in." That's fine, if you don't care how they got them. If the numbers are all that matters, I give you the following players:
Johnny Evers - career .270 hitter with 12 home runs
Joe Tinker - career .262 hitter
Monte Irvin - career .293 hitter with 99 homers & 443 RBIs
Bobby Doerr - career .288 hitter
Leon Day - career record 37-19
and, of course, the infamous Bill Mazeroski.
Do these players have numbers that warrant their election? So elect the 'users' and remove the 'undeserving' to a special wing. The Hall is already corrupted.

***THEY SAID IT***
" Former Dallas WR Michael Irvin said yesterday “I don’t know if anybody has less talent than the Dallas Cowboys, now.” And both the Houston Texans and Washington Redskins responded, “Who are we, chopped liver?”  -- Janice Hough
"The NBA is rolling out five TV games over 11½ hours on Christmas Day. Who knew that “five lords a-leaping” referred to a basketball team?"  -- Dwight Perry
"ESPN graphic from baseball’s winter meetings, listing the 51-111 Astros’ needs: “Pitching — Hitting — Fielding.”   [ It appears the front office might need help, too - CP]
"The Creighton men’s basketball team handily defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff, which I’m pretty sure is some kind of time-share development."  -- Brad Dickson
"On Christmas Eve, TSN will present the top 100 bloopers of 2013. But enough about the Winnipeg Blue Bombers."  -- RJ Currie
"Wackypedia word of the year is Romosexual. It describes a person that screws his fans on the gridiron."  -- TC Chong
"A crowd of overeager shoppers looking to get a new pair of $170 Air Jordans rushed the Eastland Mall entrance in Columbus, Ohio, knocking the doors off their hinges. That’s called a charging foul."  -- Dwight Perry
"Friday night, the UNO men’s basketball team played Minnesota on BTN. Minnesota is coached by Rick Pitino’s son. That’s what it says on his office door: “Rick Pitino’s Son.”  -- Brad Dickson
"Sacramento Kings guard Jimmer Fredette obliged a group of neighborhood kids who knocked on his door and asked him to play a pickup game. The kids said it would’ve been even more fun if Jimmer hadn’t taken every shot."  -- Brad Dickson

Holiday cheers to everyone.

CP-









Monday, December 23, 2013


In keeping with the season, with a renewed to commitment to making only comments that are as fair and balanced as FoxNews, aware that Santa knows who has been naughty or nice, and in dire fear of Chad calling me bad names, here is the nicest thing any New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles or Washington (Insert Favorite Racial Epithet Here) fan has said about the Dallas Cowboys this century:

“If Tony Romo is done for the season I could feel for Cowboys fans if it weren’t for owner, general manager, chief-architect-of-a-mediocre-over-rated-team, and obnoxious-ego-maniac Jerry Jones, Head Coach (Yes, Jerry), Jason (Of course, Jerry) Garrett (I love you, Mr. Burns… I mean Jerry), Defensive Coach (????) Lane  Kiffin’s Dad (The defense is the most offensive part of the team)… and that they’re in Dalla$. Otherwise…”

Vod



Saturday, December 21, 2013

IT'S BOWL SEASON

The avalanche of year-end bowl games are due to start any minute. You can find any number of articles that list the various games along with their various corporate sponsors. There will also be some that will give you a scouting report and even make predictions.

Before you get too tired of them, you should know that there are a few lesser known Bowls that haven't gotten a lot of publicity.

The Preparation H Finger Bowl  The location of the game hasn't been announced, but it's expected to be somewhere in the deep south..
The Bean Burrito Aroma Bowl  This will be in Chicago - the Windy City, of course.
The Athletic Supporters Bowl  This year's game will be in Jockstrap, Kansas, and feature two teams with a lot of  high voices
The Draftdodgers Bowl  This game will be played somewhere along the Canadian border and features two teams with strong running games.
The Roughriders Bowl  This is the first bowl game featuring two ladies teams. Both will be showing off their new leather uniforms.
The Ketchup Bowl   BOTH teams start out behind 14-0 (Think about it)
A disappointing note:
This years Poison Ivy Bowl has been scratched.

***BASEBALL NEWS***
## Curt Schilling has been name to replace Orel Hersheiser in the ESPN booth for next years baseball games. At least Schilling won't put us to sleep like his predecessor did. Schilling will always be definite in his pronouncements. Wrong, but definite.
## Kevin Youkilis has decided to give it one more year. It's in Japan, where facial hair is allowed. A year with the carefully groomed Yankees proved that sometimes, facial hair is a good thing. I wonder if the Japanese team had to pay New York a posting fee?
## This is strange. Grant Balfour agreed to terms with the Baltimore Orioles, contingent on him passing his physical. After the physical, the Orioles backed out of the deal. Balfour's agents claimed he passed with flying colors. What did the Orioles see that the doctors didn't?
## Carlos Beltran was introduced to the press yesterday, holding up his new uniform, number 36. Beltran says he's always wanted to be a Yankee ever since he was a little boy and he's thrilled to finally be with the team. He then knelt down and kissed Brian Cashman's World Series ring.

[By the way, most of this was sarcasm]

***THEY SAID IT***
"The nickname of Duke's basketball bench boss is Coach 'K,' short for Krzyzewski. The last time I tried spelling it I got irritable vowel syndrome"  -- RJ Currie
"An "unidentified bidder" paid $10,877.77 for beard shavings from World Series MVP David Ortiz. I gather he’s "unidentified" so his wife doesn't find out what he did with the kids' tuition money."  -- Brad Dickson
" Looks like the wolves finally got to Mack Brown’s door, forcing his ouster as football coach at Texas. Just call him Mack the Knifed."  -- Dwight Perry
"Only one more shopping day until the first NCAA football FBS bowl game of the year. And if you know the name of the game, and who’s playing, and you’re not an alum of either team…. you probably have two much time on your hands."  -- Janice Hough
"Some interpretations of Mayan prophecy have the world ending this December. In related news, Heidi Klum just announced she will no longer model lingerie."  -- RJ Currie
"Plan to watch Nebraska-Georgia if you don't mind reruns. Also, look for the contingent of Husker fans who travel to the game. They'll be in row 23, seats four, five and six."  -- Brad Dickson

CP-
 




























Thursday, December 19, 2013

sarcasm |ˈsärˌkazəm|: noun; the use of irony to mock or convey contempt

Sarcasm? The 'hangnail' comment was kind of cute and cute rarely, if ever, qualifies as sarcasm. The rest of the post seems wholly supportive of the Roberts signing. If, as CP now claims, that his Roberts post was an exercise in sarcasm, I'll gladly sign up for class with Dr. Cooper and CP had best car pool with us.

The 'cruel' facts are that the Roberts signing is a last gasp effort to sign anyone who can play the position after  Omar Infante signed with KC and the Yankees farm system is devoid of quality infield prospects (as well as quality outfield prospects, quality pitching prospects, ad nauseum).

That Roberts has not been able to play in more than 77 games since 2009 is not cruel, just fact, and it remains highly unlikely that number will not improve with age.

I'm far from the first 'cruel' SOB to comment on a potential Jeter - Johnson infield combination. The cruelty will be in the watching.

I'll leave it to our four or five regular readers to make their own evaluations but it is good to see that CP can, like the rest of us mere mortals, get personally abusive. Sarcasm?

Vod

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

REALLY?

So humor is lost on Vod and now sarcasm is hidden from him also. With many other choices out there, players not very talented but healthy enough to stay on the field, why would you pick Roberts? It seemed pretty obvious to me, but I chose to be sarcastic rather than cruel. 

In one episode of "The Big Band Theory," Leonard held up a sign that said "Sarcasm," for his socially inept roommate, Sheldon Cooper. I was hoping not to have to do that.

CP-

WHEN ROBERTS IS THE ANSWER, WHAT IS THE QUESTION?


Chad’s headline, 2ND BASE IS ALL SET NOW, is one of the most optimistic and, for Yankee fans, one of the most disturbing phrases our hero has penned in many days. There is an important truth in Chad's headline. The Brian Roberts signing does resolve their 2nd base issue now. The operative word, of course, being ‘now’, December 18, 2013, approximately four months before the season opener. Roberts, currently 36 and counting has not appeared in more than 77 games since 2009 and there is no reason to expect that number will improve with age.

If and when Derek Jeter and Roberts can stay healthy enough to play together the combined age of the Yankee infield will be 76, a patriotic but unsustainable number. Worse yet, if and when Roberts sustains another seemingly inevitable injury, his replacement, Kelly Johnson, will team with Jeter forming arguably the worst defensive middle infield in the American League.

The good news for the 2014 Yankees middle infield? The home pinstripes are still the best looking uniform in baseball.

Go Laundry!

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

2nd BASE IS ALL SET NOW

** The Yankees have signed former Oriole Brian Roberts to a one year deal. He's been an excellent player in the past, but he's been plagued by injuries the last four years. He's had injuries to his neck, back, knee, abdomen, hip, and hamstring, not to mention his bouts with concussions. The only thing he hasn't suffered from is hangnails. He has a career on-base percentage of .349, so he'd make a good 2nd spot hitter, if he can stay healthy.

** MLB and Japanese baseball has agreed on a new posting agreement and the league's star pitcher, Masahiro Tanaka, is ready to sign with a Major League team, except...  His current team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles may refuse to post him. Why? The new posting rules say the maximum bid is now $20 million, as to opposed an unlimited amount, which is what it used to be. Considering that Major League teams had paid up to $50 million plus for the rights to negotiate with a Japanese player, this is a significant loss to the Golden Eagles. Other than holding him back, they really have no recourse but to post him. If they don't, in two years he will be a free agent and they'll get nothing. If they hold him back one year, there is always the chance of injury. It appears they have to let him go.

** The Yanks have signed left-hander Matt Thornton to a two year deal as a situational lefty out of the bull pen. I don't know how good he'll do, but it's another that was a Red Sox player last year.

** Okay, I wasn't a math major in college, so someone had to explain this to me. The Yankees have to pay a $28 million luxury tax for 2013, with a final payroll of $237 million. The Dodgers final payroll was $236.9 million. Their luxury tax is only $11.4 million. Where's my calculator?

***THEY SAID IT***
"Dez Bryant said the reason he left the field early in the Cowboys’ loss to the Packers is that he didn’t want to be seen crying on the sideline. And Dallas fans are thinking “How do you think WE felt?”  -- Janice Hough
"The arena crew at a Florida Panthers game replaced the glass behind the net but didn’t take the backing off, blocking the view from the stands. "Good idea," said Sabres fans."  -- RJ Currie
"There were two pieces of bad news for the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. Dez Bryant left the field early and Tony Romo didn't."  -- Brad Dickson
"Dennis Rodman is expected to help train the North Korean basketball team. A little different: Anyone who misses a layup is sentenced to 20 years in a labor camp."  -- Brad Dickson

CP-
 

Monday, December 16, 2013

I APOLOGIZE, MS. HOUGH


I offer my sincere apology to Janice Hough. I misread the attribution in Chad's post and blamed her for the comment re: umpires handing out letters of introduction at third to avoid the ever manly and traditional home plate collision. That gem sprang from the genius that is T C Chong. I'll try harder to decipher Chad's color-coding in the future

Chong and all the macho types commenting how the proposed rules change will include a clause changing MLB uniform pants to skirts or just poking a little 'harmless humor' at violent home plate collisions will no doubt have a field day yukking up the first confirmed case of degenerative brain disease in a former player’s suicide.

A study released last week found that former MLB player Ryan Freel had the degenerative brain disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), when he committed suicide a year ago. Caused by repetitive brain trauma, CTE has raised questions about the safety of the athletes.

Freel, who missed 30 games during the 2007 season because of a concussion he got colliding with a teammate, estimated that he had sustained up to 10 concussions during his playing days.

Waiting patiently to be shown the humor in this.

 V.

I WAS JUST THINKING...

** All this talk about Robinson Cano has glossed over the fact that he isn't the "best player in baseball." Supposedly, that crown is currently worn by Mike Trout of the Angels. Buster Olney says one agent told him that if he was representing Trout, he might start by asking for 12 years and $400 million. Do you think Angel's owner Artie Moreno has enough ink left in his pen to write that figure on a check?

** Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston was involved in some kind of sexual assault that occurred about a year ago. A CBS executive announced that a planned interview with Winston was cancelled because "...FSU submitted a list of approved topics." Am I the only one who thinks this sounds a little bit suspicious?

** It appears the Yanks are heading into the 2014 season with Kelly Johnson as their second baseman. He is a lifetime .253 hitter, but he has some power and is a left-handed hitter. He won't make us forget Robinson Cano, but hopefully, he'll at least make us forget Horace Clark.

** Mark Ellis is the latest player who has stated he wants to stay with the Yankees. They all do, until someone offers them more money. ...or any money.

** For all you Dallas Cowboy haters, Tony Romo managed to throw two interceptions in the last three minutes of their game against Green Bay. Here's a guy with a world of talent who seems to find a way - any way - to lose important games.

** The Syracuse basketball team has looked like a guard-driven team so far. Freshman point guard Tyler Ennis and sophomore shooting guard Trevor Cooney heading the team so far, but when St. Johns pushed them up against a wall Sunday, the team went to old reliable C.J. Fair, who sunk three difficult 15-footers from the baseline to help the Orange hold off the Redmen. Oops, I mean the Red Storm, to be more politically correct. Syracuse is currently ranked #2 in the nation.

** Babe Ruth's famous "I'll knock a homer for Wednesday's game" baseball will be auctioned off in a sale starting Jan. 20th. This is the ball wherein Ruth promised to hit a homer in the World Series for an injured youngster. The current record for the sale of a Ruth homer is just short of $400,000. A reserve price has not yet been set, but some experts think you might have to be Robinson Cano to afford it.

** Yankee president Randy Levine has stated categorically that the Yankees have "no intention of trading Brett Gardner." You have to believe that because we all know what a bastion of truth Levine is.

***THEY SAID IT***
"The Houston Texans are blaming their disappointing season on a supposed “curse” caused by Vanilla Ice’s halftime performance on Sept. 15. Of all of the hundreds of sports “curses” this is the first one that seems to have merit." --  Brad Dickson
" Good news Cowboy fans, everytime Romo throws a pick, an angel gets their wings."  -- TC Chong
"The Miami Dolphins upset the New England Patriots 24-20. So the question of the day “WWGB?” Who will Gisele blame?"  -- Janice Hough
"CNN reports a Kentucky man who has been arrested over 1,500 times was back in jail as of Thanksgiving. He’s been visited by one brother, two cousins and 19 NFL scouts."  -- RJ Currie
"Tiger Woods’ half-brother, Earl Woods Jr., has been charged with calling in a false bomb threat at his work. Or as it’s known in golfing circles, a bad lie."  -- Dwight Perry
"On Sunday Night Football the Steelers defeated the Bengals. You know what won it for Pittsburgh? Special teams. Especially coach Mike Tomlin’s three tackles and two forced fumbles on punt returns."  -- Brad Dickson

CP-






Saturday, December 14, 2013

WHAT'S THAT SMELL? NO, IT'S NOT NEW JERSEY




You never have far to look to find a reason, or reasons, to be thoroughly disgusted with MLB.

Next spring we will be treated to the Hall of Fame induction of Bobby Cox, Tony LaRussa and Joe Torre, three managers who thrived and prospered during the heydays of baseball’s PED epidemic.

ESPN.s Rock Reilly summed it up perfectly. “You could build a wing with the admitted and suspected drug cheats they won with: A-Rod, Roger Clemens (Torre), Jason Giambi (Torre and La Russa), McGwire, Jose Canseco (La Russa), Melky Cabrera (Torre and Cox), David Justice (Torre and Cox), Andy Pettite (Torre), Manny Ramirez (Torre, with the Dodgers) and Sheffield (Torre and Cox.)

“If we get really lucky, maybe disgraced HGH pitcher Darren Holmes will show up. He played under all three of them!

“It's just another year in the Hall of Farce, where the codes of conduct shift like beach sand; where the rules for one set of men are ignored for another; where PED poppers can never enter, but the men who turned their backs to the cheating get gleaming, bronze plaques.

“Hail The Great Enablers!”

Cox, LaRussa and Torre are far from alone in pulling off their great Sgt. Schultz cabaret act pleading, “I see nothing!” while Hogan’s Heroes befuddled stalag commandant Col. Klink, the equivalent of MLB’s ever so astute owners.

Their denials of never having seen any evidence of PED use doesn’t pass the most minimal sniff test as players ballooned into Hulks, baseballs soared out of stadiums in unprecedented numbers, and when questioned by congressional committees, Sammy Sosa forgot how to speak English and Mark McGwire refused to talk about the past. I’m sure the complete lack of awareness, or abject stupidity, of both managers and owners had nothing to do with the enormous spike in attendance and revenue they enjoyed during the epidemic.

Reilly got it right, “Remember, kids: If you play the game under even a single cloud of suspicion, you're out. Manage it under one? Come on in and pull up a plaque!”

SHOUT OUTS

Hey Randy…

With typical Yankee condensation, Yankee team president Randy Levine said he feels bad for the five-time All-Star second baseman, who this week finalized a 10-year, $240 million deal with the Seattle Mariners, because I think he's disappointed he's not a Yankee. Yo, Levine, Cano has 70 million reasons to be a very happy guy.


Dear Dwight, Janice, et al…

Dwight Perry, Janice Hough and several dozen sports writers, bloggers and “humorists” have had a field day ridiculing MLB for proposing a rules change to eliminate violent home plate collisions. I wholeheartedly support their clever efforts. There’s nothing like a little bone-crushing, career-ending violence to spice up an event and take our minds off the wave of violence inundating our culture. Thanks for the comic relief.







Friday, December 13, 2013

HERE WE GO AGAIN

For all the talk about what a classy operation the Yankees run, they must secretly be really bad. First Joe Torre announced he was refusing the Yankees offer to continue managing the team because he "...felt disrespected." All because the Yankees offered him a measly $5 million to manage them for one year. How could they be so cruel? How do they expect a man with a wife and grandchildren to live on that? Based on a 40 hour work week, that figures out to $2400 an hour. Shameful.

Now Robinson Cano has announced that HE felt disrespected because the Yanks only wanted to pay him for 7 years. He said that he would be 38 years old than and what happens afterward? Don't they realize that he needs to be paid until he's 40? A former boss once told me, "I don't hire anybody for life. Who says I owe you that? I'll pay you to work for me as long as you're productive." Not Cano. He expects to be paid in excess of $20 million for three years when he's over the hill. He found somebody who would. Let's see how popular he is in Seattle in 8 years when he hits .240 with 12 homers.

** Just before MLB announces that home plate collisions are no longer allowed, the Texas Rangers went out and drafted a football player. I would have liked to hear that conversation."Hey chief. We're all set on those close plays at the plate for next year. I got us a football player so when we need...what? No collisions? Starting when? But what about Russell Wilson? Release him? Got it, chief"

** MLB has talked to all the teams to try and explain the new replay rules. This ought to make for a fun summer.The rules are somewhat complicated. A manager gets one challenge a game. Unless he gets it right, than he gets a second. The umpires can review any play after six innings, without a manager-requested challenge. The teams can have an extra coach and a video screen in the dugout to help them decide if they should challenge or not.
This is getting out of hand. The mantra that keeps getting repeated is, "We just want to get the calls right." Not me. I like hating umpires.

** Former Yankee updates **
Hughes is in Minnesota
Chamberlain is probably going to Arizona.
Chris Stewart has been traded to Pittsburgh

Granderson is across the  river with the Mets
Vernon Wells has locked himself in the trainer's room and won't come out

TC Chong:
"Former Yankee Robinson Cano has signed a $240M 10 year contract with the Seattle Mariners. Wait til he finds out that unlike New York, when he’s out in public in Seattle, he will be Robinson Nobodyknows."
Right. And in 7 years, he'll be Robinson Nobodycares.

***THEY SAID IT***
"The Steeler's coach was fined $100,000 for stepping on the field. Tomlin could have saved $50,000 by just spilling a drink on him."  -- Janice Hough
"Major league baseball will be changing the rules so that home plate collisions will now become illegal. Catchers can no longer block the plate and runners cannot target the catchers. Third base umps will now hand out letters of introduction to every runner rounding third base."  -- TC Chong
"Wednesday’s Spurs-Timberwolves game in Mexico City had to be postponed when a faulty generator filled the arena with smoke an hour before tipoff. In other words, they came to see an NBA game — and a Willie Nelson concert broke out."  -- Dwight Perry
"The RCMP arrested an Ontario man for trying to sell the Canadian navy’s shipbuilding secrets. Isn't that like the Chicago Cubs selling championship-building secrets"  -- RJ Currie 
"A Wisconsin high-school hockey goalie had 86 saves. Unfortunately, there were 112 shots."  -- Fark.com
"Major League Baseball voted to ban home-plate collisions, beginning in 2014. MLB is now slightly less physical than Black Friday shopping."  -- Brad Dickson
"Pope Francis is Time Magazines ‘Person of the Year’. When the pontiff received the news, he screamed “Yes!”, and immediately “Tebowed”.  -- TC Chong
"What do you call it when Bartolo Colon’s season is shortened 50 games by a PED suspension?
A semi-Colon."  -- Dwight Perry
"Redskins coach  to reporters, after listing his reasons for benching QB Robert Griffin III: “I’m trying to be as honest as I can, and I don’t normally do that."  -- Mike Shanahan
" Kim Jong Un had his own uncle executed. I've attended family holiday gatherings that went almost that bad. After the story broke on Thursday, a new land speed record was set by Dennis Rodman driving to the airport"  -- Brad Dickson

CP-
 










  



Thursday, December 12, 2013

MORONS MAN UP!


Today’s SportNation’s poll question, “How would you feel about MLB banning collisions at home plate?”, had over 68,000 responses as of 6:30 this morning. 39% responded, “OK with it”, while 61% responded “Not OK with it”. Comments critical of the proposed rules change to eliminate home plate collisions included “…wusses, …man up…, …stop messing with the perfectly great game, …seems dumb”. And these are some of the less offensive comments.

The misogynistic comments are, of course, “dumb”, coming from apparently “real men” from the comfort of their PCs and barcaloungers. The “don’t change the game” comments might have more validity at first glance… unless you’re, well,  “dumb”.

At every level that baseball is played as a game, beginning with T-Ball, the home plate collision has already been banned for years. The practice has only survived at the professional level where baseball is far more a business, and a very big one, and far less a game. “Manliness” aside, one can only reasonably expect that savvy business people will protect their valuable assets.

The intentional lower-your-shoulder and wipe out a player collision has not been allowed at any other base without the suggestion that uniform pants be changed to skirts. Pete Rose shot off his big mouth in opposition to any rule change, the Pete Rose who ended Ray Fosse’s career with a vicious hit at home plate in a meaningless All Star game and the same Pete Rose who never had to worry about getting equally smeared playing 2nd base. You’re the “man”, Peter, or perhaps you’re still just a Dick.

The don’t-mess-with-the-game-I-played purists simply have no clothes unless they’ve walked a mile in the spikes of a major league catcher.

Rules purists are even more naked. Changes in rules, rules interpretations and unwritten rules have been part of baseball for over a century. Any reasonable baseball fan should be able to easily tick off a dozen examples of the former and the “neighborhood play” at second exemplifies the later.

To all the red-blooded, violence thirsty troglodytes bemoaning the demise of a relatively rare but frequently disastrous collision, take a pill – other than Viagra – and try to understand that major league baseball is not played in the Roman Coliseum and is sold as family entertainment. Need more mayhem in your life? Chug a six-pack and head out to the demolition derby, MMA or WWE slug-and hug-fest. There’s enough gore and violence, real and imagined, for all. 

- V.

Monday, December 09, 2013

LET'S JUST LAUGH AND ENJOY THE GOOD STUFF

** Auburn made a statement against Missouri on Saturday, rushing for 545 yards, led by Tre Martin's 304 yards. He was within 3 yards of tying the all-time collegiate record, but on the last play of the game. Auburn elected to just take a knee and wait out the last 12 seconds. A great display of sportsmanship since the Missouri rush defense was so bad, the record never would have been in doubt.

** The Pittsburgh Steelers tried to pull one of those last-second, multi-lateral plays to snatch a victory with no time on the clock. It worked, too, except the last ball carrier barely stepped out of bounds avoiding the last defender.

** Florida State will play Auburn for the National Title this year. Auburn has that "high school" offense that 1st year head coach Gus Malzahn brought with him from Hughes High School. No one has caught up with his "Hurry-Up-No-Huddle Offense" yet. FSU, however, led the nation with 689 total points, an average of 53 ppg. This could be a fun game to watch.

** MLB's Winter Meetings start today. A lot of major moves have already taken place, which is unusual, but there are still some interesting rumors floating around.
#Jonathon Papelbon is on the block, but the Phillies GM thinks he'll have a tough time moving him.
#San Francisco may be interested in Ichiro Suzuki, who may be willing to move because of his projected limited playing time in NY.
#The Mariners are waving a couple of blank checks around, ready to back up their Robbie Cano deal.

Speaking of that, most teams are shying away from long-term, big-money deals. Then you see the Yanks throw seven years and $150+ M at Ellsbury and then the Cano deal, and you have think, Yeah, right!

**I was going to list the Bowl line-up, but I'll have to research the names again, since I can't separate the Bowls from the commercial products that now designate them.

** Here is an excerpt from Brad Dickson's final Bottom Ten of the Year.
1. Miami (Ohio) 0-12: The Redhawks win the mythical Bottom 10 national championship. I’d call for a trophy presentation, but nobody would show up.
3. Georgia State (0-12): Aside from the offense, defense, special teams, coaching, halftime-band performances and the pregame meals, it was actually a pretty good season.
 9. Western Michigan (1-11): The season highlight film will be shown Tuesday from 7 to 7:01 p.m.

It's okay to start celebrating the Christmas Holiday now, starting with ESPN's version of Jingle Bells.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYEHUOpwNvE

***THEY SAID IT***
"Mark Cuban said the NBA should discuss allowing players to use human growth hormone. It’s about time someone addressed the shortage of 9-foot centers."  -- Brad Dickson
"Sports Illustrated asked if we should consider Alabama star and cover boy AJ McCarron "the best ever." McCarron best ever? Possibly.  His girlfriend Katherine Webb,definitely."  -- RJ Currie
"The 35 bowl matchups are out. But it’s just not the same without the Poulan Weed-Eater Independence Bowl."  -- Janice Hough
"Bowl bids went out Sunday. This is the traditional day that athletic directors see “Famous Idaho Potato Bowl” on the caller ID and let the call go to voicemail."  -- Brad Dickson
"David Ortiz says the Yankees lost “the face” of their ballclub when Cano signed with the Mariners. Leaving aside the insult to Jeter I would think the “face” of the Yankees would be more likely to be a George Washington or Ben Franklin, or someone else whose face is on money."  -- Janice Hough

CP-












Sunday, December 08, 2013

It's not over until it's over...


The Baltimore Ravens Snatched victory from defeat, defeat from victory and, again, victory from defeat in less than 90 seconds. 

The Philadelphia Eagles bury the Lions under a foot of snow and 28 4th quarter points. 

The Giants and Bills are weaning New Jersey-York football fans off football by effectively losing by half time. (The Jets have already been doing their part for several years.)

Zach Johnson played spectacular golf down the stretch at the NWM World Championship erasing Tiger Woods' three shot lead over the last seven holes. After dumping the worst 8 iron of his professional career into the hazard on 18, Johnson holed a wedge from the drop area to tie Woods for the lead and force a playoff. Johnson won on the first playoff hole when Woods' lipped out a three foot par putt.

Auburn over Alabama. Amazing. Say no more.

A 42 year old record fell when Matt Prater hit a 64 yard field goal. Wow! At last, a confirmed Big Foot sighting!

- Vod

Saturday, December 07, 2013

THE BEST OUTFIELD IN THE MAJORS

A big day for the Yankees yesterday. They lost a big one - Robinson Cano - and gained smaller one - Carlos Beltran. This gives the Yanks an excellent outfield defense with Beltran, Ellsbury, Gardner, Soriano, Suzuki, and Wells.  That's six outfielders. Try and get one by them. Unfortunately, that leaves only Mark Teixeira and the pitcher in the infield, so we may see a lot of bunt base hits. This will make it easier on Derek Jeter's suspect ankles, though.

Actually, with the winter meetings starting tomorrow, they will probably try to trade at least one of them. Gardner is the only one that would bring anything of value back, but the Yanks don't seem inclined to move him. Soriano is also a keeper, a right-handed power hitter is a big need for them, especially if A-Rod is gone. Ichiro is untradeable because of his age and salary and no one will trade for Wells. (Interestingly, my auto-correct changed 'untradeable' to 'untraceable'. It may be right.) If they can't get anything decent for any of their excess outfielders, I would guess they will just release Wells, probably during spring training.

Meantime, the search goes on for a 2nd baseman. You don't really think Kelly Johnson is the answer, do you? Even if the question is, "Who's that guy standing next to Teixeira?"
They need a third-baseman, preferably one a little more reliable than Nunez.
Another starting pitcher wouldn't hurt, either. The word is that Kuroda is coming back for one more year.
Fortunately, the money is there. Saving $25 M on a possible Cano contract and an additional $27 M on A-Rod's suspension, puts a whopping $52 + M on the table.

Now if they can all stay healthy. If not, there may be a lot of Medicare checks being delivered to the Bronx.

TWO DEALS THAT MAKE NO SENSE TO ME:
Curtis Granderson is going to the Mets. Four years for $60 M to play in a park not suited to his talents. He won't have that short right field fence to shoot for anymore, so Grandy will have to change his style of hitting, not an east thing at this stage of his career.
Phil Hughes has signed a three-year deal with the Minnesota Twins. Pitching in a larger park will help him keep his home run total down, but three year is a big gamble if that doesn't happen. Of course, the spacious outfield isn't going to help him eliminate all those singles and doubles. He gave up a lot of those, too. Maybe the Twins will move him to the bullpen, where he's been very successful in the past.

***THEY SAID IT***
"Robinson Cano is now a Mariner; he will be stranded on base so much, he will feel more like Robinson Crusoe."  -- Marty Burtwell
"Unless the Mariners make a few more moves, they’re just putting a Rolls-Royce hood ornament on a rusted-out Corvair."  -- Dwight Perry
"The governor of Ohio wants to ban the letter “M.” I find myself hoping a Buckeye gets arrested for possession of _arijuana."  -- RJ Currie
" Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield star in a new Foot Locker commercial where Tyson returns Holyfield's ear. Let's hope this isn't the precursor to a John and Lorena Bobbit ad."  -- Brad Dickson
"In the game against the Rams, Vernon Davis of the Niners was pulled down by his manhood. Even worse, he came up short."  -- RJ Currie
 "A recent postgame women's college hockey brawl after Bemidji State upset Ohio State resulted in 303 penalty minutes and 19 game disqualifications. I've seen wars that were less ugly."  -- Brad Dickson
CP-











Wednesday, December 04, 2013

IS IT CHRISTMAS YET?

It must be, because Brian Cashman is not only buying presents for the Yankees, he's opening them already. So far, Brian McCann ($85 mil), Jacoby Ellsbury ($153 mil) and Brendon Ryan ($4 mil) and Kelly Johnson (a Big Mac and a milkshake). And he's not done. The annual Baseball Meeting start on Sunday and the Yanks like to make some big deal early so they can sit around and watch everybody else scurry to try and catch up.

I have been enjoying the reaction of the Boston fans to the Ellsbury deal. The phrase "Evil Empire" is rampant, of course, but what I really like is all the tweets that are calling Ellslbury a "trader."  They mean 'traitor,' of course, but it is Boston, so you have to make allowances. This isn't just one or two comments, I read at least 20 tweets that said the same thing, so I guess that means you have to make a LOT of allowances.

It appears that the Mets and Curtis Granderson are close to a three year deal. This is a mistake for Grandy. He's got to hit homers to make him a contributing factor and Citifield is one of the toughest parks to hit homers in. Just as David Wright. But that's where the money is, so that's probably where he'll end up.   The "Trader!"

Speaking of money, the Seattle Mariners are the favorite to sign Robinson Cano. All the talk about wanting  be a Yankee for life is so much hot air right now. He's going to go where the big money is and he doesn't care where it is. If he goes to Seattle,in three years, nobody will know his name. The big endorsement deals won't be there, at least like they would be in NY. But he'll have the big bucks.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have the inside track to signing closer Brian Wilson. So you have Brian Wilson and 'The Beard' and Manny Ranirez and 'The Dredlocks." What is it with LA and hair? Are they trying to emulate Boston?

***THEY SAID IT***
"Urban Meyer said he won't suspend two Buckeyes players ejected for fighting in the game against Michigan for the Big Ten championship game. With national title game berth on the line, I get the impression they could have set the Michigan mascot on fire and still played."  -- Brad Dickson
"Delivery Man is a new movie about a guy who has fathered 533 children. Despite what you may have heard, he doesn't play in the NBA."  -- RJ Currie
"Jacoby Ellsbury has signed a 7 year, $153 million contract with the Yankees. This is apparently part of the new NY strategy – “Austerity as long as we are not competing with the Red Sox.”  -- Janice Hough
"Auburn AD Jay Jacobs told ESPN that if the SEC champion doesn’t get to play in the upcoming BCS title game, “it would be, quite frankly, unAmerican.”Somewhere, J. Edgar Hoover’s body just went on full spin cycle."  -- Dwight Perry
"The governor of Ohio banned the letter “M.” Ohio State players were getting permanent tattoos that read “Beat _ichigan.”  -- Brad Dickson
"Nick Saban is a genius. He may well be the best football coach alive (it’s either him or his old boss, Bill Belichick), who before it’s all over may stand with the very best who ever lived. ...and who is remarkably easy to root against."  -- Mike Vaccaro
" Rams DB T.J. McDonald pulled down 49ers tight end Vernon Davis by the privates during Sunday’s game. We are fast running out of body parts to tackle."  -- Len Berman
"Gushed Utah State football coach Matt Wells, in praise of running back Joey DeMartino: “The kid just oozes guts, and sometimes it’s not pretty.” As an added note, the Aggies boast the only game films rated R for graphic violence."  -- Dwight Perry

CP-
 















Saturday, November 30, 2013

EVERYBODY GETS INTO THE ACT

We're used to seeing athletes getting into hot water or making outrageous statements, but coaches? Governors? Even used-car salesmen are plumbing depths never before seen.

** College football rivalries can be a lot of fun and certainly very interesting.  USC & Notre Dame have a long-standing feud, but it isn't as intense as some of today's battles. One year, Notre Dame showed up for the game wearing gold helmets. At the Army-Navy game, the two corps would try to out-cheer each other. Syracuse-PennState was always very heated, but nothing like Auburn vs. Alabama.
Both schools are in the same state and are only about 150 miles apart. Close enough that there are many families in the state where one spouse went to Auburn, the other to Alabama. We've seen pictures of  houses decorated  Orange & Blue (Auburn) on one side, Crimson (Ala.) on the other. One Rabid (and I mean RABID) Alabama fan actually poisoned two iconic Oak Trees at Toomers Corner in Auburn. The perpetrator has been arrested, but I'll bet Auburn fans won't be satisfied until the punishment fits the crime.
So this game - called The Iron Bowl - goes on about 6:00 P.M. tonight.


** Up north, another civil war is taking place. Ohio State is in Ann Arbor, MI, to play Michigan. This little get-together has it's die-hard fans, too. A car salesman in Ann Arbor is offering free cars if Michigan shuts out Ohio State, while the governor of Ohio has issued a proclamation, forbidding the use of the letter 'M' on Saturday. This one's being played at noon.

** So lets all get ready for "Saturday Bloody Saturday"
Florida vs Florida State (Seminoles vs 'Gators in the "Non-PC Bowl")
Duke vs North Carolina (This is more heated during basketball season)
UCLA vs USC (Can this be called the "Initials Bowl?)
Baylor vs TCU (I think the TCU Horned Frogs were last in the team nickname line)

** We know athletes are always trying to get an edge on their opponents, even to stretching the rules when they can, but now coaches are doing it too.
 -- Steeler coach Mike Timlin stood ON THE FIELD during a runback against Baltimore, impeding the path of the Ravens runner, which may have prevented him from scoring. No call from the refs and Timlin just grinned. Nobody from Baltimore thought it was funny.
-- In a game against the Lakers, Brooklyn Nets coach found a way to stop the game to set up a shot, even though they had no time outs left. He "accidentally" spilled a drink onto the court, forcing the refs to stop the game while it was being cleaned up. Later, Jason Kidd explained that in the "...heat of the moment, his palms were sweaty."  Nobody could keep from laughing at that excuse.

** On the baseball front, A-Rod keeps adding to his lawsuit against MLB, the latest charging Selig for not testifying at his hearing. There is a rumor, unverified, that A-Rod's next lawsuit is against Bud Selig personally for having a "juvenile nickname."

Congratulations to Vin Scully who just celebrated his 86th birthday.  Probably the best sportscaster ever!

***THEY SAID IT***
"Georgia Southern beat Florida without completing a pass. That's right, no passes. Which reminds me: Kobe Bryant said he’s almost ready to play."  -- RJ Currie
" Dennis Rodman has a  new line of signature vodka: “One shot and you want a nose ring. Two shots and you’re flying to North Korea."  -- Greg Cote
"A celebratory balloon released during a Nebraska football game eventually landed in Ludington State Park in Michigan — 565 miles away."  -- Dwight Perry 
Alert statisticians immediately declared it the longest touchdown in Husker history.
" Green Bay Packers cornerback Tramon Williams shoved a referee. That's a new low - you're playing the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving and you end up looking like the bad guy"  -- Brad Dickson
"Denver blew a 24-0 half-time lead and lost to the Patriots in November's second-largest collapse. The largest was Heidi Montag having her F-cup implants removed."  -- RJ Currie
"There were something like five 5K runs in the Omaha area on Thanksgiving Day. Well, four 5K runs. The last one was a group of people chasing a turkey"  -- Brad Dickson

"The Bengals-Chargers game in San Diego will be the first NFL blackout this year. Yeah, that’s the way to raise interest in a team that can’t sell out its games – make sure local fans can’t watch."  -- Janice Hough
"A Target store in Jacksonville is giving away free Jaguars gear. A spokesperson said, What else can we to do with all this stuff that’s been returned?"  -- TC Chong

"At Walmarts around the country, fights reportedly were breaking out on Black Friday. The line continues to blur between holiday shopping and a WWE cage match."  -- Brad Dickson

CP-














Thursday, November 28, 2013

THE ANNUAL ARGUMENT

It should be just a discussion and/or exchange of opinions, but the Baseball Hall Of Fame election seems to hit nerves from everywhere - including here.
Buster Olney has written another article in which he claims that there are so many HOF-worthy candidates that he can't vote for all that he wants to because he's limited to ten. The reason, he says, is the logjam created by the 'alleged' PED users that a lot of voters won't vote for. Some of them should have already been voted in - according to Buster.

There are 36 eligible players on this years ballot. They are all good players, but 17 of them will probably never be elected because their careers really don't warrant it. Players like Richie Sexton, J.T. Snow or Eric Gagne. Buster says he won't be able to vote for 7 players he deems worthy of election.His standards must be a lot lower than mine, because there are only six I would vote for.
Here are the players that are creating Buster's logjam:
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Rafael Palmeiro
Mark McGwire
Sammy Sosa
Some players are marginal and not on my ballot, but I wouldn't be unhappy if they make it.
Edgar Martinez
Jeff Bagwell
Craig Biggio
Mike Piazza
Don Mattingly
Tom Glavine
Mike Mussina
Curt Schilling
Chad's Six
Lee Smith
Jack Morris
Frank Thomas
Greg Maddux
Jeff Kent
Tim Raines
LET THE ARGUMENTS BEGIN--

Ryan Braun "apologized" yesterday, sounding like every athlete that got caught in a lie. He said he was 'sorry for some mistakes he had made,'  and that he 'wished he could go back and not make those mistakes.'
Finally, he said, 'It was time to move on.' He didn't say he lied, and  he didn't admit specifically that he used steroids. Right - "mistakes were made." Don't you just love third-person apologies?

So let's end on a high note: HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

***THEY SAID IT***
"Mike Tyson now says he was high on drugs during several fights. I'm guessing he wasn't exactly sober when he signed that contract with Don King, either."  -- Brad Dickson
"Three NFL games tomorrow – Green Bay Detroit, Dallas Oakland, and Pittsburgh-Baltimore. With only two teams, Detroit and Dallas, over .500, barely, at 6-5. Talk about Thanksgiving turkeys."  -- Janice Hough
"The Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders uniform reportedly hasn't been modified in 14 years. Hey, if it works, don't fix it."  -- RJ Currie

2012: Tigers shortstop Jhonny Peralta suspended 50 games for PED use. 2013: Peralta signs four-year, $53 million deal with the Cardinals. Who says cheaters never prosper?"  -- Dwight Perry
"A note to those of you who don’t believe in Purgatory: try watching the last three minutes of an NBA game."  -- RJ Currie

"Thanksgiving is a traditional time for Americans to come together in the spirit of peace and fellowship to give thanks. And then, to turn on TV and watch a Detroit Lion pull some guy's leg off."  -- Brad Dickson
"The International Swimming Hall of Fame is leaving its longtime home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. I know this because on the flagpole outside the hall, Johnny Weismuller’s swim trunks were flying at half mast.”  -- Greg Cote
"Reliever Brian Wilson refused to shave off his beard to join the Yankees. Apparently that leaves his employment options pretty much left to the Red Sox, ZZ Top and Duck Dynasty."  -- Jim Barach

CP-













Sunday, November 24, 2013

THE WORLD OF SPORTS

STRANGE HAPPENINGS, BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS, SUCCESSES AND FAILURES AND, OF COURSE, MONEY-MONEY-MONEY.

** A college coach won a game yesterday by calling a timeout. Naturally, the victim was the snake-bit Syracuse football team. On fourth down, with 4 seconds left, behind by one point, Syracuse sent their field goal unit on to try a 50+ yard field goal. At the snap, the holder stood up and threw a pass toward the sideline and a wide-open tight end. And I mean wide, wide open. There wasn't a Pittsburgh player within 15 yards of him and nobody between him and the goal line. Alas, the Pitt coach had called a timeout just prior to the snap to "freeze" the kicker. Instead, it won the game. With the trick play ruined, Syracuse threw an incomplete pass to end the game.
** The Yanks signed their first big free agent yesterday, former Atlanta catcher Brian McCann. 5 years at $17 million a year. Great left-handed power, made for Yankee Stadium, and a great defensive catcher. He's also above average at "framing a pitch," an ability I personally have no faith in. Half the time, the umpire can't see the pitch, let alone the catcher's glove, so how does that help? It might work if they umpired the game from behind the pitcher, but framing didn't even work like that when I played sandlot ball back in the 50's. On the bad side, McCann doesn't have much of an arm. He's also so slow that  he makes Jorge Posada look like Usain Bolt.
** As John Sterling would say, "An A-Bomb from A-Rod."  And A-Rod dropped a few A-Bombs at the hearing of his suspension appeal. His tantrum came about when the arbiter upheld Bud Selig's refusal to testify. You seldom see A-Rod lose his cool on the field, but the guys in suits found a way. I'm not an A-Rod supporter, but I think Selig's refusal is bull-roar. He's the one who levied the suspension, he should be made to defend it. Oh well, it's off to Federal Court - maybe.
** Buster Olney feels strongly that the Yanks intend to cut A-Rod loose after whatever suspension he serves, his $100 million salary notwithstanding. His thinking is, that after a full year of inactivity and at his age, A-Rod will have nothing left. He has a good point, but that's an awfully big money bite, even for the spendthrift Yanks.
** Another pundit, whose name I've forgotten, suggests a trade that "...will help both teams." Matt Kemp of the Dodgers to the Yanks for CC Sabathia. I don't see how this is any great deal for NY. They're looking to add two starters and they should trade their #1 starter?  I don't think so.
** This is new - brand new. Ian Kinsler was traded to the Tigers for Prince Fielder and Kinsler's agent, Jay Franklin, knew nothing about the trade until he got a phone call from ESPN, asking about it. I'll bet he still wants his commission, though.
** LA Angel's owner Artie Moreno, can't spend money fast enough. He just acquired outfielder David Freese from the Cardinals. for Peter Bourjos, adding about $3 million to his already sky-high payroll and still has nothing to show for it.
** There is some poetic justice in this: Current Astro's owner, Jim Crane, has sued the former owner, Drayton McLane, because he claims they misrepresented the value of the regional TV network that broadcasts the Astro's games. He probably should have been more concerned that they misrepresented the quality of the team.
** Students standing behind college football's 4-man broadcast crew (including Lee Corso), display signs rooting for their respective teams - and sometimes crazy things to get noticed. My favorite: "COULDN'T THINK OF A THING"
** Finally. Mike Lupica asks a good question:
"One game for the championship of the world in baseball, who would you rather have at second base, Dustin Pedroia or Robinson Cano?    Discuss."


***THEY SAID IT***
"Links legend Chi Chi Rodriguez, who — while trying to break a pane of glass 25 yards away with a shot for “Big Break NFL” TV cameras — hit himself in the groin when the glass held strong and the ball came flying back."  -- Dwight Perry   [Every guy who reads this is wincing right now. - CP]
"Last Tuesday marked the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, which consisted of 272 words. On “Monday Night Football,” it takes Jon Gruden 1,500 words to explain an offside call."  -- Brad Dickson
" The Florida Gators lost in Gainesville to…. Georgia Southern? This is the most embarassing thing to happen in Florida since at least Wednesday."  -- Janice Hough
"An Olympics promotion has Moscow Transit letting passengers ride for free if they do 30 squats in two minutes. I’m not sure about 30, but I’m pretty good at doing squat"  -- RJ Currie
"Jack Taylor of Grinnell College in Iowa just scored 109 points in a game. He scored 138 points in a game last season. I'm no expert, but it may be time to consider double-teaming this guy."  -- Brad Dickson
"And from the The Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction file comes word, via San Francisco’s KRON-TV, that police pulled over ex-baseball slugger Jose Canseco’s car, only to discover:  Four goats in the back seat. And one of them was wearing a diaper. (A goat, not Jose.)"  -- Dwight Perry
"Dwight Howard appeared on “Sesame Street” last week. Based on how Howard shoots free throws, I'm guessing the word of the day was “brick.”  -- Brad Dickson
"This weekend Canada will have their 101st Grey Cup football championship. Between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Hamilton Tigercats. Otherwise known as a game between two teams most Americans couldn’t find on a map."  -- Janice Hough
"The woman who ran topless at the President’s Cup said she did it because “streaking for Stricker kind of rhymed.” Whereupon Grey Cup organizers began worrying she’d get ideas for Regina."  -- RJ Currie
"A Buffalo Bills fans slid down a 100ft railing and landed in the section below on another fan. He has been barred from all future Bills games, but has been invited to try related stunts at nearby Niagara Falls."  -- TC Chong

CP-
 










Friday, November 22, 2013

Not Proofed - Read at your own risk

I am just so impressed with professional sports for providing incredible models of mature, ethical, trustworthy behavior.

Bud Selig's boys have set a new standard for civil behavior and logical reasoning explaining why the Commish would never testify at the mediation hearing challenging the 211 game suspension he levied against Alex Rodreiguez. Bud's boys explained that Selig refused to testify because A-Rod got pretty damned mad that Selig wouldn't testify to explain how or what 'evidence' he used to arrive at the 211 games. Read that again. Yup. Bud won't testify because A-Rod got angry that Bud wouldn't testify. Oh, well, now we all understand. I'm sure there will be a job for Bud if a Republican is ever again elected President in our lifetime.

Forget baseball. It's football season and the NFL is doing it's best to garner all of the headlines it so richly deserves. Dan Snyder is at the top of his game offending so many with his convoluted defense of the demeaning Washington moniker, and offending the rest of us with the product he's putting on the field.

The news regarding concussions and CTE continues to get worse while the league collects billions while making bumbling attempts to reduce at least a small measure of the mindless violence that leads to concussions, CTE and other long-term brain damage while juicers cry and Ray Lewis rants on ESPN that without the pain it just ain't football or a 'man's' game anymore. You can count on ESPN to provide the best analysis and insights from its hired murderers.

The Dolphins in particular and many other high profile players in general have mastered the art of portraying 'Real Men' as foul-mouthed, gay basing, racist, overly aggressive douches and coaches as totally out of touch with team control. Of course Sean Peyton showed just how little head coaches know about what goes on in the locker room. He, of course, was never unaware of bounties for gruesome hits and putting opponents, particularly quarterbacks, out of a game. Oh no.

The referees have distinguished themselves as serious practitioners of Blind Mans Bluff and masters of obfuscation in protecting their own.  Alice in Wonderland's Queen of Hearts will replace Ed Hochuli as the dean of NFL officials. Her famous quote, 'What does a word (or rule) mean? It means whatever I say it means!' assures her ascendancy.

And you don't even need to consider Richie Incognito to be thoroughly disgusted with this bunch of bozos.

Meanwhile, the stench coming from the Eastern Conference of the NBA is palpable. Only 3 of 15 teams have a winning record (cough, cough) and Toronto currently leads the Atlantic Conference at 5-7   (cough, gasp, gag). I guess you don't always get what you pay for, folks, unless you like buying tickets to watch really bad basketball.

Gotta go. This all reminds me it's time to take out the trash.

Vod

Sunday, November 17, 2013

A COUPLE OF QUICKIES

THINGS AREN'T ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM
** Rice running back, Jayson Carter, is 4-9, 135 lbs. If he carries the ball and makes yardage, do they call it a "short gain?"

**Time of possession: Syracuse - 42 minutes, Florida St. - 18 minutes. Final score: Florida St - 59, Syracuse - 3. At least the Orange have the clock management thing down pat.

**Do you think there is a bit of a gap in talent in college football? Yesterday, FSU scored 59 points, Ohio St - 60, Baylor - 63, Clemson - 55, Wisconsin - 51.

**Dr. Orr Limpisvasti, an orthopedic consultant for the LA Angels, says a possible reason for CC Sabathia's loss of speed on his fastball might be due to his weight loss. He says that an athlete's body determines his mechanics and that much of a weight loss (20+ lbs), could change the way he throws and would contribute to his loss of velocity. Pitching coach Lee Mazzone agrees with him. "He needs to gain 25 pounds back," said Mazzone, "Somebody probably told him if he loses weight, he’ll have more longevity. Well guess what? I’d rather have effectiveness." I'll have to show this to my doctor.

**Tim Kurkjian, ESPN, hadn't tweeted in almost 6 months. He had an excuse, though. "I just got a new IPhone. My entire family helped me set it up because I am a technological idiot.."  I know how he feels. It took my wife and I three days to figure out how to make our new cell phone ring. My 12-year old grandson Andrew figured it out in 5 seconds. Via e-mail.

**New ESPN poll: Should Derek Jeter be the Yankees everyday shortstop next season? 57% of the fans in the poll say no.  The only two states that voted yes, were New Jersey and West Virginia. That seems significant but I'm not sure what it means.

**Off to see my cousin's grandson play Pop Warner football, where the players are still in it for the love of sport.  

***THEY SAID IT***
" The CIAA Division II football championship game between Virginia State and Winston Salem State was cancelled after five Virginia State players allegedly beat up the Winston Salem QB in the bathroom during a luncheon for both teams. Guess they were trying a little too hard to prove they were really the equivalent of Division I players?"  -- Janice Hough 
"A-Rod’s interview with MLB over his suspension has been canceled for tomorrow. Because the Yankees slugger reportedly has the flu. And who would ever expect A-Rod to make up an excuse? Wouldn’t you know. That’s the one shot he didn’t get."  -- Jim Barach
"Anyone who thinks football is a team game hasn’t watched the Green Bay Packers play without Aaron Rodgers."  -- Cam Hutchinson
"Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie — who’s fathered 10 children with eight women — reveals in an upcoming book that he got a vasectomy “late in the 2011 season. Now that’s one clipping call that no one would argue with."  -- Dwight Perry
"The Florida Everglades minor league hockey team started a 58-year-old goalie. He’s the first hockey player whose teeth fell out naturally."  -- Brad Dickson
"A soccer fan lost his house in a bet on the British club team Arsenal to defeat Manchester United. I can picture him yelling at the TV. His wife says, “It’s only a game.” “Honey — you better sit down."  -- Brad Dickson
"Brett Favre has admitted in a radio interview to serious memory loss. Let’s hope he remembers his retirement – any one of them."  -- RJ Currie

CP-













 

Friday, November 15, 2013

APPROACHING THE SILLY SEASON

...and things not so silly.

***THE AWARDS***
It's really hard to argue with this season's end-of-the-year awards. The MVPs are Miguel Cabrera and Andrew McCutcheon, two guys who led their teams to the playoffs.  There may have been guys who had better batting averages or hit more homers or driven in more runs, but there is no denying that their teams couldn't have been as successful without them. That is the true definition of "most valuable."

Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw won Cy Young awards after being the most dominant pitchers of their respective leagues. Granted there is some luck involved in won-lost records, but if you watched them pitch, you could see that in most cases, batters were over-matched.

As I wrote earlier, I think the Manager-of-the-year choices were also right on the mark, with Terry Francona and Clint Hurdle.

***WHAT'S GOING ON***
Alex Rodriguez was supposed to be interviewed by MLB today concerning his suspension and the  Bosch Clinic case. Isn't going to happen because A-Rod has the flu and his doctors have advised him "...not to travel." A source close to the situation had this to say, "He's dying to tell his side of the story. But his head is all clogged up right now." That's probably true about his head, but that didn't start with the flu.  He is supposed to present his case before the arbiter starting on Monday and he's supposed to testify in his own behalf. Maybe.
Actually, this whole thing is confusing.
One source says the chances were 60-40 that he would testify on Friday.
Another said it was 75% sure.
One of his lawyers said he won't be there.
A-Rod says he is dying to tell his side of the story, but pleaded the 5th amendment when MLB questioned him about it back in July.
This story line changes hourly. Even Brett Favre is saying, "Dude, decide!"

***IS IT THE PINSTRIPES THAT CONFUSE EVERYBODY?***
NY Yankee owner Hal Steinbrenner says his $189 million payroll limit is still in effect, but they will do everything possible to put a winning team on the field. With the Yankees, of course, 'winning' means the World Series. The word out of the Winter Baseball meetings is that the Yankees approached every big name agent about their clients. Supposedly, the Yanks have money to spend, but with all the holes they have to fill, Robinson Cano being the biggest, how can they sign any high-priced players and stay under Hal's limit? There is going to be some very inventive finance manipulation to achieve this.

***THEY SAID IT***
"Pamela Anderson successfully competed in The New York City Marathon. ESPN televised the event and when they showed Pam running, it was in Slo-Mo."  -- TC Chong

"British forensic scientists now believe King Tut died under the wheels of a racing chariot. That tops today’s sports rundown."  -- RJ Currie
"MLB owners today approved funding to expand instant replay in 2014. You know what this means – beer prices are going up."  -- Janice Hough
"Quick question for that Midwest couple who settled their NFL bet with a Taser: Who are you taking in this week’s Charger game?"  -- Dwight Perry
"I'm not surprised that Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe will play against the Broncos on Sunday. Marijuana is legal in Colorado and the game will take place in Mile High Stadium."  -- Jack Finarelli
"On eBay, you can buy signed, authenticated Jim Palmer underwear from the 1970s. Next time you're sick of your job, be glad you're not an “underwear authenticator.”  -- Brad Dickson
"Toronto is considering bidding for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Now if they can just get their mayor to pass a drug test."  -- TC Chong
"Miami Dolphins guard Richie Incognito has now filed a grievance against the team over his suspension. This might be the biggest mess ever in Florida football not involving Urban Meyer."  -- Janice Hough

"Brian Cashman says Brian Wilson won’t be coming to the Bronx because the free-agent reliever refuses to shave his trademark beard. Guess he’s never heard of the Yankee clipper."  -- Dwight Perry
"A group of Bosnian soccer fans missed their team's historic World Cup soccer qualifier in Lithuania after mistakenly buying airline tickets to Latvia. For the rest of time, I don't want to hear any Bosnian soccer fans call American sports fans dumb."  -- Brad Dickson

CP-