## The Texas Rangers are bringing Nolan Ryan back into the fold as an 'executive adviser.' I don't know what that means, probably Ryan doesn't either. He says he has "no hard feelings for The Ranger management." Right, and I like to root for the Red Sox.
## Speaking of the Red Sox, the Yanks last series of the year is in Fenway Park, and it should be Jeter's last game, so expect ticket prices, always higher than usual for a "premium game," to be out of sight for this one. Wouldn't it be funny is Jeter pulled a 'Mariano Rivera' and stopped playing after his final game in Yankee Stadium? Just sayin'...
## I don't understand this one. The Phillies just gave A.J. Burnett a contract for $16 million for this season. This one makes no sense to me. This isn't a deal that puts the Phillies over the top. This deals says they've gone over the edge.
## Roy Oswalt has retired. For a pretty good pitcher, he had a strange career. In his first 8 years, he won 116 games and lost 57. For his last seven, he won only 47 while losing 45. Not the kind of record you'd expect from a guy people considered ace.
## Joe Lunardi is ESPN's official Bracketologist. His job is to set up the NCAA March Madness brackets, using his opinion of the strengths of all the teams and tries to outguess where and how the tournament officials will set up the official one. Right now, he's just picking the four #1 seeds. Later on, he will forecast the whole tournament. Only problem is, he changes his picks so often, that, eventually, one of them comes very close to the real brackets. It must be up to us to decide which one is right.
## ESPN headline: Shaun White finishes fourth, breaking his string of gold medals in the Olympics. Okay, he gave it his best shot and fourth place in the world isn't a disaster. Here's my problem with the situation.
The television broadcast bothers me. They build up a situation in the Olympics, in this case, White's quest for a third gold medal, then they stall showing you his actual race, all the while repeating over and over, what's at stake. Last night, they kept switching back and forth from the half-pipe event to other events, taking all the enjoyment out of the event and turning it into a soap opera. You had to watch 2 hours and 55 minutes of their program before they allowed you to see the actual attempt.
When ABC's Wide World of Sports first started to broadcast the Olympics, they took you to the venue and let you watch the event, with all the normal delays of the event. You got to watch the lesser athletes perform and, in some cases, fail badly, along with the more skilled athletes. This gave you a better feel for how hard the sport was and let you appreciate the efforts of the medal winners. There are some events which we couch potatoes have no understanding for. We have all tried to ice skate at one time or another, or ski. But how many of us have ever ridden a luge? Or attempted to ski jump? I've never even seen curling live let alone try it. So we need more exposure to those events, but show us ALL of the downhill. Let's see all the skating. But let's see it complete, not segments here and there. The Olympics is being broadcast on five different channels here, from 9:00 AM until 1:00 AM the next morning.So there is certainly enough air time available.
***THEY SAID IT***
"In Sochi, temperatures are in the sixties. During alpine skiing, two competitors almost drowned." -- Brad Dickson
" Another reason to congratulate Michael Sam. He helped knock A-Rod out of the sports headlines." -- Janice Hough
"And the whole thing brings to mind the 2010 interview when Willie Mays, then 79 years old, was asked if baseball was ready for an openly gay player. His three word response “Can he hit?” -- Janice Hough
"The Olympic village has drawn fire for yellow water, toilets that don't flush properly, Spartan hotel rooms and unpaved streets. Sochi isn’t a resort; it’s a last resort." -- RJ Currie
"Ex-NFLer Jared Lorenzen still playing QB in indoor football — at 320 pounds. He is not having a great season, but does lead the league in snacks." -- Greg Cote
"The sweaters the U.S. team wore in the opening ceremonies cost $595 each. Fortunately, due to our economic situation, we saved the receipts. After the games we’ll return ‘em. “These 704 sweaters weren’t quite what we wanted.” -- Brad Dickson
"Alex Rodriguez is suddenly taking his suspension for the entire 2014 season with remarkable aplomb. In fact, you could say it doesn’t even move his needle." -- Dwight Perry
"The IOC passed out 100,000 condoms to 7,650 Winter Olympians, which works out to about 13 condoms per athlete. How are they gonna have time to participate in any events?" -- Brad Dickson
"Russian speedskater Olga Graf won a bronze in the 3000 metres. Exhausted, hot and excited after her race, she unzipped her suit down to her waist – forgetting she didn’t have anything on underneath. Graf quickly rezipped the suit before she completely flashed the crowd. But have to think ratings may go up for her next race." -- Janice Hough
"Fox banned a Super Bowl ad featuring actress Scarlett Johansson doing provocative things with a soda straw. It didn’t help the Broncos, who really sucked." -- RJ Currie
CP-
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