Goodbye, Mike
Mike Ilitch, billionaire owner of the the Detroit Tigers and the Detroit Red Wings, has died at 87. You won't be able to find a smarter, more dedicated owner in all of sports. He wanted to win so badly, he was willing to spent big money to get one. He didn't just throw money around like George Steinbrenner, he always put his money where it would do the most good. He acquired players who filled the needs of his teams, not just buying the biggest names available, but getting those players who could strengthen their weaknesses. He was also dedicated to the city of Detroit, spending money to help out a city in one of the most desperate financial crises in the USA. He will definitely be missed.
The Blame Game
It seems interesting that the last two Super Bowls were lost by the offensive coordinators: Darrell Bevell, of the Seattle Seahawks and Steve Sarkisian, of the Atlanta Falcons. Both men called for passing plays near the end of the game when a running play almost assured his team of a win. Why? Is it pride? Both men will have excuses...sorry, I mean reasons, but the bottom line is still winning and neither coach chose the most logical way to get that win.
Well that didn't take long.
Two days into the start of spring training and already the Yanks have two guys hurt. Two of the youngest kids on the team. Tyler Austin broke his foot when he fouled off a pitch during batting practice and Mason Williams has an inflamed knee.
That's no help, Manfred.
Rob Manfred, baseball's Commissioner, wants to shorten the length of games. Good idea, but his first suggestions aren't going to help much. Limit the amount of time the managers have to decide if they want to challenge a play to thirty seconds. That may save 15-20 seconds at most. He also suggested having batters take first base on an intentional walk without having the pitcher throw 4 balls. Again, not particularly helpful. Besides, as a purist (which means I'm old), I think that's a mistake. There is always that chance that the pitcher may throw one away and making a situation that much worse.
The real answer, of course, is right in front of you. KEEP THE BATTER IN THE BOX AND THE PITCHER ON THE RUBBER. Now was that hard? This is really where the most time is wasted. You could shorten the commercial time between innings, but that's just being silly, isn't it?
Keep trying, Rob. The intention is good.
They already have a rule.
They're going to change the strike zone by moving it up a couple of inches. They've tried this before. They have raised it, lowered it and widened it. It's interesting that the official rule hasn't changed in over 20 years, just the umpire's interpretation of the zone. Of course, every umpire has their own strike zone. They'll never be able to fix that.
***THEY SAID IT***
"If Super Bowl 51 had gone much longer, it would have run into the Super Bowl 52 pregame show." -- RJ Currie
"In talking about the fiasco that is the NY Knicks franchise: "If Phil Jackson were alive today..." -- Gene Wojciechowski
"How about that historic Super Bowl
LI? The intensity, the physicality, the incredible display of
athleticism. I’m talking about Lady Gaga at halftime." -- Brad Dickson
"Kyrie Irving is questioning whether dinosaurs existed. Fool, he could have just asked Tim Duncan, who lived with them." -- Janice Hough
"The Spurs have clinched their record 20th straight winning season. Even more
remarkable is that they did it with the same starting lineup." -- Jim Barach
"Winnipeg Jets star Dustin Byfuglien loves ice fishing. He has to be fast,
though: He only gets two minutes for hooking." - RJ Currie
"There is a report that Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria might sell the team. You thought the death of Fidel Castro was celebrated down here? The departure of Loria might run a close second." -- Greg Cote
"The Atlanta Zoo has named a
species of cockroach after Tom Brady. In related news, Falcons fans gave the
same name to their local bookies when they had to square up." -- TC Chong
"The Baylor football program is a mess. I think everybody’s pretty much in the barrel, but I
don’t know if anybody knows where the bottom of the barrel is." -- Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby
"The NY Post said the ring girl who MMA
fighter Andrew Whitney accidentally socked in the jaw was okay. Just
okay? I've seen her pictures; she deserves a standing-10 count." -- RJ Currie
"NFL owners moving their franchises to new locations with taxpayer-subsidized
stadiums. For folks with no farming background, it’s amazing how well they know how to milk a cash cow." -- Norman Chad
"Organizers of the Westminster Kennel Club Show took hundreds of dogs and
dozens of cats and placed them under one roof. Well, I certainly can’t
think of anything that could go wrong here." -- Brad Dickson
"The Atlanta Falcons fired defensive
coaches Richard Smith and Bryan Cox. When asked what the tipping point
was, coach Dan Quinn listed 31 points in row." -- RJ Currie
"University of Washington basketball player Malik Dime slapped two Colorado fans.
Well, who hasn’t wanted to do that at one time or another?" -- Brad Dickson
CP-
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