"BIG BOY SEASON IS ABOUT TO COMMENCE"

 The words of ESPN staff writer, Coley Harvey, forecast what Yankee supporters hope will be a massive display of baseballs leaving the confines of ballparks across the nation. Not since the early '60s, the days of Mantle, Maris, Berra, Moose Skowron, Elston Howard and Johnny Blanchard, has a lineup threatened the existence of pitchers like this one. No shortcuts, no easy outs and no respites, there will be home runs and strike outs galore. Whether they win or lose, it will be exciting to watch.
Judge, Stanton, Encarnacion, Sanchez, Voit followed by Torres, Gregorious and Hicks with DJ LeMahieu, the teams leading hitter, waiting his turn.  It starts tonight and should be in full bloom by the weekend. I'm waiting. Everyone's waiting.

**There's been a number of discussions this week about players unconcerned with running hard after hitting the ball. The argument is, why run hard and risk an injury when the end result is obvious. When they run hard but not all out on easy grounders and pop flies, I can understand. When they loaf to first on obvious home runs -  which turn out not to be - then that I cannot handle. The problem comes down to the managers. There is no chastising, no fines, not even any nasty looks. They make excuses for them. Yesterday, Welington Castillo  of the White Sox, hit a ball that bounced off the base of the wall in right center and he made it all the way to ...first base. What happened to him? They took him out of the game because he "had a bad back." If Billy Martin was the manager, Castillo's pain would have been a bit lower than his back. I think that's what is needed.

**About a week and a half ago, a minor league player bunted for a base hit in the ninth inning against a pitcher who was throwing a no-hitter. The score was 3-0 .  Players on the other team - and a lot of other people - were incensed by this. Why? Well baseball's Unwritten Rules say you can't bunt when a pitcher has a no-hitter going. Bull roar! The object of the game is to win. You get on base, you score more runs than the other team and you win. Why do I have to make it easier for you to gain a personal achievement and in the process, lose the game? You don't like it? Take up needlepoint.
The same thing goes for this "defensive indifference" thing about stolen bases. I'm not indifferent about anything. You give it to me and I'm going to take it and you can live with the bad statistics.

**Happy Father's Day to all dads (belated). My Dad taught me try hard, don't show the other team you're upset when you fail and don't embarrass the other team with excessive celebrations. The USA Women's Soccer team should have been taught this lesson. It's nice that they beat Chile 13-0 in the first round of the World Cup. And they celebrated wildly after  every  single  goal. Soccer games where a total of one goal is scored is not uncommon so thirteen goals is outrageous. Not only was the Chilean team embarrassed, I was embarrassed. The country should have been. Shame on you, USAWNT.

**An interesting tid-bit. Cities with two baseball teams rarely have both teams scheduled to play in that city on the same day. We happened to be in Chicago a few years ago when  both the White Sox and the Cubs were scheduled to play afternoon games. We had tickets to the White Sox game, but the game was rained out.    But the Cubs played. I've been to both stadiums. They're not that far apart. How could this have happened?


**There are often stories written about fathers on Father's Day. Here's a good one written by my friend, Brad Dickson:
https://www.braddicksononline.com/sports/2019/6/14/the-shot

***THEY SAID IT***

"Only 3% of the U.S. population donates blood, according to the Red Cross.Even worse, it’s only 1% if you toss out MMA, the National Hockey League and Black Friday shopping."  -- Dwight Perry

" And who’d a thunk that so far,  the SF Giants are having a much better June than the GS Warriors."  -- Janice Hough
" O.J. Simpson has joined Twitter. As you know O.J. has a dark past - he once played for the Buffalo Bills."  -- Brad Dickson
"A runaway gold cart injured five people at the U.S. Open. No one had any idea that John Daly had even qualified to play in that event."  -- Jim Barach
"Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius, while sidelined after Tommy John surgery, taught himself to play the piano. Maybe he accidentally had Elton John surgery."  -- Rob Merc via Twitter

"The Chicago Bears waived kicker Chris Blewitt. Headline writers were inconsolable."  -- Dwight Perry

" Long NBA season is finally over. So I presume the preseason starts next week?"  -- Janice Hough
" I attended the Mississippi State-Auburn CWS game tonight. For almost three hours I sat amidst fans from both schools and now I keep saying "y'all."  -- Brad Dickson
"Texas A&M says it will sell beer and wine at football games this year. Mostly because they need the revenue now that the school is no longer getting bribes from non-athletes to get admitted."  -- Jim Barach
"If race car driver Mike Conway sends a tweet, would that be a Conway Twitter"  -- RJ Currie

CP- 

AROUND THE HORN

 Am I the only one listening?
After using all of his six prime relievers in a 5-3 Yankee win over the Red Sox, Mgr Aaron Boone lamented that he needs to get more innings out of his starters. The bullpen was responsible for 9 innings in the two games against the Sox. Okay, makes sense that you need to be judicious in your use of the bullpen, but consider this. Boone consistently pulls his starters after 5 or 6 innings, even with the pitch counts under control. Ask him and he'll tell you that the saber-metrics say that a line up hits starters a lot better the third time through. They better learn how to get thru seven or eight innings or Boone will have an exhausted bullpen come August.
In the meantime, the Yankees "B" team continues to impress. And they find a lot of ways to do it. Mike Vaccaro, NY Post says it best: "When you play the Yankees, you either wait around for them to figure out a way to come back on you or you take your beating up front, right away, and play the rest of the string out." 
**Home runs are being hit at a record pace this year. Currently there are about 11 hitters on a pace to hit 50 home runs. The record for a team for the year is 267. There are five teams on a pace to beat that, led by Minnesota, who could hit 300. I grew up rooting for the Bronx Bombers, so I love this. 
**Tom Brady applied for the domain name "Tom Terrific." He can file for all the trademarks he wants, all the domain names he can think of and patents for everything else, and it won't matter. "Tom Terrific" is now and always will be TOM SEAVER. How about applying for Tom Thumb, Brady? After all, you are a little man. 
**I read that Robinson Cano, that paragon of hustle,  is close to re-joining the Mets as he has now begun jogging. Jogging? Sounds ready to resume his normal activities to me. One NY sportswriter has begun calling him 'Joginson' Cano.
**ESPN is promoting Women's World Cup Soccer Tournament.  I love watching this tournament but couldn't ESPN find a better picture to show than the one they have? The middle lady looks like the result of electro-shock therapy. Anyway, these ladies are prime athletes and I'm looking forward to these matches.
**Did I hear right? Did Serena Williams really get beat in the French Open? I didn't think that was possible. 

***THEY SAID IT***
"Wrestler Ric Flair’s recent hospital stay cost a reported $1.8 Million. He should have turned down those six aspirin he was prescribed." -- Jokes By Jim (Jim Barach)

"Astros shortstop Carlos Correa says he broke a rib while getting a home massage, landing him on the injured list for at least three weeks. That’s what you call getting rubbed the wrong way."  - Dwight Perry
"Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva openly   spoke out against gays, then hours later claimed she was misunderstood. More later from the world back-track and field championships."  -- RJ Curry

 "Pete Rose is finally in the Hall of Fame — the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame.Coincidence? Museum curators discovered the Ray Fosse doll on the floor, broken, the very next morning."  -- Dwight Perry

"Dennis Rodman,  accused of slapping a Florida man’s face in a bar, is saying he’s never hit anyone in his life. That must be comforting for the cameraman Rodman kicked in the groin."  -- Brad Rock

“On (May 26), the last full day of Bill Buckner’s life, 16 major-leaguers struck out at least three times in one game. Buckner played 22 seasons and never did it once."  -- Tyler Kepner
" The SEC is lifting their conference ban on alcohol sales in stadiums, and will let individual schools decide.  And let’s see, most of these universities are in open-carry states. What could possibly go wrong?"  -- Janice Hough
"Blues defender Carl Gunnarson was talking to his coach at the urinals just before O.T. when he predicted his  game 2 winner against the Bruins. Known henceforth in NHL annals as The Boston Pee Parley"  -- RJ Currie

" An Ethiopian woman survived a week with a knife stuck in her back. Which means she is now qualified to take on a management job with the Lakers." -- Jim Barach

CP-

A FEW RANDOM THOUGHTS

** The Yanks are still doing it with timely hitting and a lights-out bullpen. The power guys - the 95 plus fast ball pitchers - get the ink, but watch Ottavino throw that slider. I swear it breaks two feet. How can anybody hit it?
** Cashman is getting a lot of credit for the depth of the Yankee squad, but how about a couple of cheers for the scouting department, who are really the heroes of this team.
** Manny Machado hustled himself into a surprise double last night. Nice to see a "big star" running hard out of the box. However, he did it leading off in the 9th inning with his team down three runs and he just squeaked in. His run meant nothing in the long run, his team needed baserunners. Why take such a big chance? It wasn't necessary, it was just  foolhardy. All he was doing was building his personal stats. 
** Kevin Kiermaier, Tampa Bay's centerfielder, made another great catch last night. This guy may be the best fielding centerfielder in the game. Annie-O likes him, too. "And he's so dreamy. Look at those eyes."  I'll never mention him in the blog again.
** What's with the Minnesota Twins? They have the best record in baseball, scored the most runs and on a pace to hit 320 home runs. I like their stadium, too.
** The sporting world lost a real gentleman this week. Green Bay quarterback Bart Starr died at age 85.  He was considered to be the best playoff quarterback in history, winning  90% of his games. He was also the MVP of two Super Bowls.
My favorite Bart Starr story: 
Bart came home after practice one day in a bad mood. This normally soft-spoken gentleman  yelled at the kids, complained about dinner, and generally gave his wife Cherry a hard time, all the time complaining about how much he had to do. "What have you got to do," asked Cherry? "I've got to go to this ceremony tonight," he said. "What for?" "I'm getting a Nice Guy Award." "You're kidding,"  she said.
** I mentioned in my previous blog about Cody Bellinger, Dodger right fielder, being one of the best hitters in the game. I never mentioned that he's also a great fielder with a rifle for an arm. He threw out two guys last night, one at home and one at third. A true five-star player.

***THEY SAID IT***
"Well, at least SF Giants held Diamondbacks last night under three touchdowns."  -- Janice Hough (Final score 18-2)
" Khloe Kardashian and the Lakers Lamar Odom got married last weekend after dating just one month. I'm not saying people think the marriage will end quickly, but most of the wedding guests threw Minute Rice."  -- RJ Currie
 "If the Indy 500 was held in Omaha there'd be potholes on the track."  -- Brad Dickson
"Yankee Gleyber Torres has already hit his tenth home run this year against the Orioles. The Orioles say if he keeps this up, they are going to start pitching to him overhand." -- Jim Barach

"Alex Rodriguez’s lawyers are threatening legal action after a prying photographer — apparently from an adjacent high rise — snapped a shot of him in his New York luxury suite sitting on the toilet. A-Rod, never one to miss a marketing ploy, has already secured the hashtag #SultanOfSquat."  -- Dwight Perry

"Saturday being Cano bobblehead day — a sweet way to salute Cano’s career contributions to the Mets — patrons are encouraged to walk slowly to the entry gates as only those who arrive late will receive the trinket."  -- Phil Mushnick
"Dr. Robert Fowler, co-author of a study on swine flu, advised that  symptoms  like fatigue, loss of appetite or vomiting may mean you've been exposed to the virus. Or N.Y. Knicks  games."  -- RJ Currie

"Dick Vitale says he wants to keep broadcasting college basketball on TV until he’s 100. When he’ll be The Diaper Dandy."  -- Dwight Perry

"Mets just-departed part-time outfielder Keon Broxton, a good-field .216 career hitter who’d struck out 314 times in 750 MLB at-bats. Broxton after K-ing 22 times in 49 at-bats and hitting .143 for the Mets,  complained he wasn't given the chance to show what he could do. Seriously."  -- Phil Mushnick 

CP-
 

I REALLY AM THAT OLD

Back in 1959 (I was 15 at the time), Syracuse University fielded it's best football team in it's history.  It featured running back Ernie Davis and quarterback Dave Sarrett. They finished 10-0 with four shutouts and were named National Champions. They had a great 2nd team with quarterback Dick Easterly, that played quite a bit because of all the routs the team had. So good in fact, that a west coast announcer stated during a game against UCLA, that if the Syracuse # 1 team was the best in the country then the 2nd team must have been the 2nd best.
I tell you this story because it seems to fit the current NY Yankee team. They are playing with about 8  guys who would normally be playing for minor league AAA Scranton-Wilkes Barre.  Not only playing, but winning. And not just winning, they're leading the AL East by two games. Stanton and Judge, two guys who were supposed to lead the league in home runs, haven't had 90 at bats between them. The Yanks two top starters are both on the IL. I don't know how long it will last, but I'm loving every minute of it.
It occurred to me watching the game last night, that four or more players on the team are actually fighting for a job. When Stanton & Judge return either Maybin or Frazier will have to go - maybe both. When Didi Gregorious returns, what happens to Estrada or Urshella? They may be looking for work. With the way they have performed, it doesn't seem fair.


**Disaster seems to be haunting the Mets lately. Their hoped-for best slugger Yoenis Cespedes, hasn't played an inning yet this year while he recovers from heel surgery (It didn't take. He's still a heel). Now he broke his ankle at his ranch in what was initially described as "a horrendous fall." Because horseback riding is forbidden as part of his contract, the Mets could stop paying him or even cancel his contract. His agent, aware of this, has come out and said the accident occurred when he "stepped in a hole." That would mean the "horrendous fall" was from a height of 4 feet. Yeah, a hole. That's the ticket.
In other news, Robinson Cano is up to his old tricks, running-jogging-strolling to first base. After being taken to task for it by the press,  certainly not the Mets, Cano apologized and said it wouldn't happen again. Two days later, it did. This time, he never even left home plate while he argued that a ball he hit in front of the plate was actually foul. Replays showed it wasn't even close and the call was correct. The Mets manager commented "I can see how that would happen." I can't. You run until they tell you to stop.

**My west coast sister-in-law took me to task this week because I neglected to mention her beloved LA Dodgers in my last blog. Okay, here it is. They have the best record in the National League and lead the NL West by seven games.  They lead the NL in runs scored and ERA. They also have an excellent defense. Cody Bellinger may be the best hitter in baseball right now. He's currently hitting .404 and has a real shot at the Triple Crown. I don't care what you sabermetric nuts say, those two stats still mean a lot. But their best accomplishment to me so far, is that they just beat the Tampa Bay Rays  and hopefully will repeat that feat tonight.     GO DODGERS! (How's that, Pauline?)

**Ron Gardenhire, manager of the Detroit Tigers (and one of my favorite managers), just got thrown out of a game for arguing after replay review went against his team. Baseball says you can't argue with a replay. The umpires are out of it once it goes to replay, so I guess all you can do is fly to New York and scream at the clowns in the replay room. I still think they should eliminate the replay and go back to the arguments.  Youngsters will never get to see a manager turn his hat around and get right up in an umpires face (Earl Weaver), or pick up 2nd base and throw in into right field (Lou Piniella), or throw his hat down and kick around the field (Piniella again) or kick dirt on an umpire's cleats (Billy Martin). These tactics never changed a decision but they were entertaining as hell.  There's just no color in the game anymore. I told you I was that old.

***THEY SAID IT***
"Friday morning’s Round 2 internet PGA Championship live coverage captured Dustin Johnson about to hit from the rough as playing partner Jon Rahm scrambled into the edge of the woods, where he was seen from behind, er, watering a tree. Must be what they mean by “live streaming.”"  -- Phil Mushnick, NY Post
"The NFL and its players union are studying the use of pot for pain management. So far the league has even managed to find 400 players who are willing to volunteer for the research." - Jim Barach
"My Athlete of the Year for 2019 so far: Bodexpress, who threw his rider at the beginning of the Preakness & then ran the entire race by himself finishing ahead of two other horses. Congratulation, Bodexpress." -- Brad Dickson
"Ex-pitcher-turned-accountant Benjamin Hendrickson, 38, has pleaded guilty to swindling $145,000 by cooking the books in two business transactions. Remember when ballplayers were simply content with just stealing second base?"  -- Dwight Perry
"Al Unser, Jr. was arrested for DUI in Indiana. Police became suspicious of his driving as he was going unusually slow, being observed traveling down a freeway at only 140 mph." -- Jim Barach
"A 2019 survey found half a million Canadians admitted to using cannabis at or just before work. In a related story, demands to be traded to the Toronto Raptors have skyrocketed."  -- RJ Currie
"Well, unless officials somehow rule later that they skated out of their lanes, St. Louis Blues are going to Stanley Cup finals."  -- Janice Hough

CP-













 

SOME OF YOU MAY NOT REMEMBER ME, BUT...

I just read that the Saskatoon Express has folded. The managing editor was Cam Hutchinson, a man with a great sense of humor and a marvelous writer. One of my favorite bloggers, RJ Currie, says his blog may cease also since it's tied in with the column he did for the Express. This can't be happening. We've already lost Brad Dickson who lost his column in the Omaha World-Whatever. Luckily he's on Twitter and does a weekly (hopefully) essay which is difficult to read without laughing till the tears come.
I've been too lazy to write for the last few months, but I think I ought to get back on that horse.

There must have been some weird vibe on Wednesday this week. Either that or some teams ran out of pitchers.
Atlanta scored 10 runs
Milwaukee scored 11
Minnesota got 11
Cleveland 14
Texas 16
Oakland had 17 runs
That's a total of  79 runs in six games. By way of reference, based on their average, it would take the Miami Marlins 29 games to score that many runs.

Many years ago in the Eastern League, there was a player named Blake Ball. He was a lot bigger than most hockey players and would get into fights and beat the ever-livin' crap out of the other skaters. He could stop fights by skating near other fighters and was called "The Enforcer." Apparently, that's the role CC Sabathia has taken on for the NY Yankees. Last season, he was ejected from a game for deliberately hitting an opposing batter. Last night, he tried three times to hit Rays hitter Austin Meadows and then allegedly cursed the Ray dugout as he left the mound.
The two teams don't like each other and they're playing for first place in AL East, so the last two games of the series should be interesting. Between Betances, Sabathia, Stanton and Judge have some pretty big Blake Ball- type players, so any kind of brawl might be very interesting.

New York may be the greatest city in the world, but they don't have the best front offices for their sports teams. The Jets can't figure out who is in charge, the Mets are dropping like a stone and the Knicks would have trouble having a winning record in the Oswego County High School League. At least the Yankees are showing the rest of baseball how to win with half the team on the Injured List. When a team can be in first place with a roster populated by the Scranton Railriders from a Triple-A league, it doesn't speak well for the rest of the AL East.

They say if you see enough games, you will see things you wouldn't believe. Bases loaded, one out and an easy ground ball to 2nd. You would expect a double play  and no runs scored. Well, the Baltimore Orioles had a different idea in mind. They Managed to get no outs and two runs scored when they messed up the play completely against Cleveland. Unbelievable.

Yankee fans (I assume they still are fans), sat thru a massive rain delay this week only to be told the game was cancelled at 10:00 PM. We could have told them that at 7:30. Normally when games get "postponed, teams schedule the make-up for a twi-night doubleheader. This is where they have two games in one day but you have to pay for both. Can't lose that payday, boys and girls. Well, after two rain-soaked postponements, the Yankees magnanimously scheduled ONE TICKET doubleheader. Two games for the price of one. I'm pretty sure the other 29 teams immediately censured the Yanks for this gesture. 

***THEY SAID IT***
"Only two games into Eastern Conference NBA finals, but looking like national sportswriters are going to have to start learning how to spell Giannis Antetokounmpo."  -- Janice Hough.
" Baltimore Orioles’ Chris Davis ended his record hitless streak this week at 54 at bats. The most embarrassing part was when his hitting coach pitched him beach balls in batting practice and he still struck out 4 times."  -- Tony Chong

"Americans are bored 131 days a year, according to a survey conducted by OnePoll researchers.

Which, as fate would have it, is exactly the same number of days from this year’s NFL draft to the season opener."  -- Dwight Perry

"NASA just announced it wants to have a woman walk on the moon in 2024. I'm thinking it should be Madonna."  -- Brad Dickson

"Boston swept Carolina out of the NHL playoffs with a 4-0 Game 4 shutout. The Bruins defense was so numbing, they turned the Hurricanes into the Novocaines."  -- RJ Currie

"A Babe Ruth jersey is expected to fetch $4.5 million at auction. It was ruled authentic after researchers found traces of three mustard and two beer stains."  -- Jim Barach
"That’s crazy. That’s rarer than a Chris Davis hit."  -- Cam Hutchinson
"Anyone know who the favorite for Saturday’s Preakness is? Yeah, me neither."   -- Janice Hough
"Helmet-maker Riddell is coming up with alternative designs for all 32 NFL teams. The San Francisco 49ers are now the Bay Area Self-Actualized Vegans."  -- Alex Kaseberg

"Tiger Woods’ redemptive win at the Masters was nearly undone in the third round when a security guard slipped and slid into Woods’ ankle, but it all worked out in the end. Tiger got his green jacket, and the guard got a yellow card."  -- Dwight Perry

"The Kentucky Derby is "the most exciting 2 minutes in sports." It follows "the dullest 5-hour pre-game show in sports."  -- Brad Dickson

" Zach Johnson hit his ball with a practice swing at the Masters. He was totally embarrassed when the entire gallery of patrols all chanted in unison – “one”  -- Tony Chong
"To ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel, on why he isn’t bothered about being only 17th on the NFL’s QB pay scale.  “My wife makes a lot of money.”  -- Tom Brady
"A recent study showing that walking faster helps people live longer. Especially for people trying to make their way on foot through New Orleans, Detroit and Chicago."  -- Jim Barach
"Bingo night took an unusual turn in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, when a TV monitor started showing porn. Now we know why the cards' free spaces said XXX."  -- RJ Currie
" The upside to being a race horse: unlike the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl a couple years ago Maximum Security still thinks he won. Today if anyone cuts me off in traffic and impedes my progress I'm gonna shout out the window: "What is this - the Kentucky Derby?!"  -- Brad Dickson

CP-

IT'S ALMOST TIME

Pitchers and catchers report in the next 6 days with position players about 4 days later. Machado and Harper might not be for a week after that. There seems to be a lot of big names still available. Craig Kimbrel, Dallas Keuchel, Mike Moustakas and James Shields, all of whom have some good years left. Plus a lot of agents with big dreams and unhappy clients. You'd think they would have learned from last years free agent debacle.

Some interesting teams still flirting with the possibility of big contracts are teams not normally in the market for them: the Padres, the Giants and the Phillies. This is also when the Yanks' Cashman has been known to swoop in and grab some big name out of the blue. I don't think that's going to happen but the New York media keeps harping on Harper (sorry).

The MLBPA and the Commissioner's office are negotiating major rule changes:
1) Designated Hitter in both leagues
2) Expansion of the roster to 26 players with a limit of 12 pitchers.
3) Lowering the mound
4) A 20-second pitch clock
5) Mandating a 3-batter outing for a relief pitcher.
6) Starting a runner at second and the start of every extra inning.
All reasonable except for number six. That would bastardize the sport beyond belief. Most of them probably wouldn't go into effect until the 2020 season if approved.

Some of the rule changes are aimed at increasing the pace of play and reducing the game time. There is one change that could make a big difference: Relief pitchers can only throw ONE warm-up pitch on the mound. They've been throwing for ten minutes in the bull pen already. If they aren't warmed up by then they shouldn't be brought in. Also, make the managers call for the relievers from the dugout. No need to walk out there and rub the baseball while the reliever comes in, talk to him and hand him the ball and walk back to the dugout. All the while, Yankee fans are sitting in their $500 seats munching on $12 hot dogs and $15 beers. Isn't heartburn enough punishment?

Some Ridiculous Things In Sports
**Why do announcers come up with cute phrases, which are only cute once, and beat them into the ground? The color guy for a Syracuse game mentioned early in a game that Syracuse guard Tyus Battle was "battle-hardened." He then repeated that and some variations a half a dozen times the rest of the game. ("He came to do battle or He's really battling out there.") And then a chuckle every time. At least he was amused.
**The baseball that Jose Bautista hit for a homer and did his famous bat-flip was sold at auction for over $28,000. Other than Joey-Bats mother, who would spend that kind of money on a baseball? Not even his agent.
**Can this be true? The team bus driver for the Patriots got lost on the way to stadium for the Super Bowl. I'm investigating the rumor that he was paid off by some disgruntled Bills fans.
**Apparently, it's just me but I wasn't that impressed with Tony Romo's efforts at the Super Bowl. It seemed like a lot of the time, he said everything 'tongue-in-cheek,' like he was making fun of the game. I know it's only football but he's paid a lot of money and didn't seem like he was taking it seriously. He does know his stuff, though.

***THEY SAID IT*** 
"Some members of the national media are making a deal out of Ndamukong Suh not shaking hands at the end of the Super Bowl. So what? You're just lucky he didn't eat the Pats mascot or toss anyone off the upper deck."  -- Brad Dickson
"Rams CB Robey-Coleman now going to appeal his $26,739 fine for his helmet-to-helmet no-call against Saints. Uh, Nickell does remember that he ADMITTED and bragged about it?"  -- Janice Hough

" Saints coach Sean Payton said after losing the NFC championship he sat in his room for three days watching Netflix and eating ice cream. Gosh, he makes that sound like a bad thing."  -- RJ Currie
"The College Football Hall Of Fame says it will add the Goodyear Blimp as an honorary member, making it the biggest air-filled immortal since the Hall inducted Dick Vitale in 2008."  -- Dwight Perry
"45 year old Ichiro Suzuki has signed a one year minor league contract with the Mariners who open the season in Japan this year. He should be able to travel with the parent team under a “grandfather clause".  -- Tony Chong

" I enjoyed Adam Levine at halftime. This gave me an opportunity to put a face to all those songs I hear while I'm waiting to see the dentist."  -- Brad Dickson
"'Temperatures in Winnipeg recently dropped to -40 C. It was so cold, it could even freeze the seat that Lakers coach Luke Walton is on."  -- RJ Currie"
" Colorado State is selling wine and beer at home basketball games. If you’ve seen them play, you’ll understand why."  -- Tim Hunter

"Pitcher Adam Ottavino will become the first player in Yankee history to wear jersey number 0.

Manny Machado and Bryce Harper, not to be outdone, are holding out for the symbol $."  -- Dwight Perry

"The Nationals hired octogenarian Jack McKeon as a senior adviser. Good for McKeon, but at 88, isn’t ‘senior adviser’ redundant?"  -- Janice Hough

"Who was the best NHL defensive tandem I ever saw: Bobby Orr and anybody."  -- Cam Hutchinson
" Rams’ DL Ndamukong Suh is trying to shed his “reputation” for dirty play. Reputation? He’s reputed to be a dirty player? How about over $600,000 in fines and two suspensions for being one?"  -- Phil Mushnick


 

 

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

I'm not a fan of corporate names on sports facilities. I know the sports franchises make a lot of money by selling the naming rights, but the arenas then lose their individual identity, their charm. Can you imagine Fenway Park becoming Bank Of American Financial Center? Or Dodger Stadium becoming Warner Bros Films?
Let's look at the ball park the SF Giants call home - I'm not sure how to refer to it. In 1996, the Giants sold the naming rights to Pacific Telephone & Telegraph for $50 Million. That lasted until 2004, when it became SBC Park. Then it changed to AT & T Park in 2005. In 2019, it will be known as  Oracle Park. There you are; in 22 years it has had 4 names and none of it really matters because that's not what the locals will call it. Even now, some still refer to it as PAC Bell, the Phone Booth or Telephone Park. Confusing?  One suggestion that makes sense is to simply call it Some Big Corporation Park. Save a lot of time and you'd never have to change the signs.

The Silly Season drags on. It seems like no free agents are being signed but that's not really true, Some are just no long term or bank-breaking deals happening. Of course, every one's waiting to what happens to the Big Three - Harper, Machado and Keuchel. You could even throw in Kimbrel if you want. Harper & Machado are looking for 10 years. Kimbrel, I heard wants 8 years and Keuchel is holding out for 5 years. It doesn't seem to be the money that's holding things up, it's the mileage. These contracts would all come with a ball and chain. Where's the next One Dumb Owner going to come from? The candidates are the White Sox, the Phillies and, of course, the Yankees. Actually, the Yanks seem to be the only one trying to be responsible. I never thought I'd be writing that sentence.
We should hear something in the next couple of weeks. Spring training starts in about 5 weeks and teams will need time to make hats big enough to fit these guys head.

I call it the Silly Season because you never know what could happen. About a month ago, one baseball analyst predicted where 30 prominent free agent would most likely sign. So far, he's gotten 4 right and 15 wrong. Take heart, he's still got a chance to blow 11 more signings.

Annie-O and I watch Syracuse University basketball all the time and we always wonder which Syracuse team will show up: The team that can throw them up from Salina street downtown and bury them or the one that has trouble making dunks, because we've seen both this year. Notre Dame and Clemson both saw the shooting team in the last 10 days but the Orange will face three ranked opponents in the next couple of weeks. They said last night that the Duke game in Syracuse is already sold out and to expect in excess of 34,000 fans that night. That's big-time college athletic$, people.

I came across this little tidbit in Phil Mushnick's column in the NY Post.The Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1st was played  between LSU  and Central Florida. The LSU team had two players on the roster who were allegedly in involved in a robbery gone bad that included  the death  of an 18 year-old, yet neither player was suspended. The football game was just as bad. It saw three ejections, a pile of dirty-play penalties and an unnecessary-roughness call that allowed UCF a last-drive shot to tie the game. ESPN's announcer Brian Griese stated, "Both teams can walk out of here with their heads held high." REALLY?  Even professional wrestlers would have been embarrassed by that performance. 

***THEY SAID IT*** 
"Clemson DT Dexter Lawrence, who was suspended indefinitely over PEDs and missed Tigers’ postseason games, has announced he will leave early for 2019 NFL draft. Makes sense, because in NFL a positive drug test only costs you 4 games."  -- Janice Hough
"A sure sign my wife has overheard too many injury reports. Yesterday she upgraded my future status as her husband from doubtful to questionable."  -- RJ Currie
"A Brazilian soccer player was lying prone on the field already injured when the injury cart ran over his foot which prompts this response - You had one job!"  -- Brad Dickson 

"European captain Thomas Bjorn got a butt tattoo to commemorate his team’s Ryder Cup victory.

Fittingly, he had a little trouble getting up and down for a few days."  -- Dwight Perry

"NY Post reader Bruce Christoffersen thinks just-acquired Troy Tulowitzki will easily pass the Yanks’ physical. I mean, it’s not as if you have to run to first base."  -- From Phil Mushnick's column
"According to the website Medical Daily, U.S. scientists consider marijuana beer potentially life-threatening. Snowboarders consider it a time-saver."  -- RJ Currie
"The Blue Jays owe $38 million to recently released shortstop Troy Tulowitski. Only Judge Judy gets paid more to sit on the bench."  -- Argus Hamilton

"Eight NFL head coaches fired, six white men – so far hired. How’s that “Rooney Rule” working out?"  -- Janice Hough
"The Cotton Bowl resulted in Clemson defeating Notre Dame 30-3.  So will The Irish change the name of their mural of “Touchdown Jesus” to “Field Goal Jesus”?  -- Tony Chong
"All the people in the world who feel sorry for Nick Saban after the college football championship game will be meeting in the back booth of a Denny's."  -- Brad Dickson
"I’m not saying Houston Rockets star James Harden travels a lot. He just plays basketball like it’s a good walk spoiled."  -- RJ Currie

 "A 14-pound, 13-ounce boy named Ali became the heaviest baby ever born at Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital. Not sure if he has a baby carriage yet, but he does have a full ride to Texas A&M."  -- Dwight Perry

 CP-