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January 2009

PETA demands Vick be capable of remorse prior to return to the NFL

Updated Friday 01/23/2009

Do you think you could withstand an evaluation of your future intentions if somehow it could be done? I'll bet you have something you keep hidden that you don't want anyone else to know.

And yet, your hidden beliefs or intentions don't necessarily manifest themselves in actual real-time activities, do they?

The demand from PETA that Roger Goodell not even consider a Michael Vick reinstatement to the NFL prior to determining his ability to feel remorse is just chutzpah of the first magnitude. Here is the statement from PETA's president, Ingrid Newkirk:

Commissioner Goodell knows that he has an obligation to the league and to millions of fans, including children... to make sure Michael Vick is mentally capable of remorse before he can touch, let alone wear, an NFL uniform again."

Capability for remorse is now the standard for employment in the NFL? I thought it was whether a person acted on his bad intentions. And we're speaking about future intentions here. Vick is paying his price for previous acts.

Mind you, this is not a commentary about whether Vick should or should not be allowed a second go-round in professional football. He hasn't completed his sentence nor had a chance to re-enter polite society. Once that happens we can start the opinion machine cranking.

Recidivism is always a concern when a prisoner is released from jail. And the rate can be high depending on the nature of the crime committed. PETA might want to work with Vick's parole officer and mental health professionals if their goal is to prevent cruelty to animals.

Comments may be sent to: info@incidentalcontact.com

Pete Carroll should apologize to Mark Sanchez

Updated Friday 01/16/2009

I wrote about the Pete Carroll flap yesterday on examiner.com. Since that time Carroll was interviewed on sports-talk radio and rather than apolgize for what happened he defended it without conscience.

Here's an analogy for you: does a father of a girl getting engaged express his displeasure at the engagement party when all are drinking champagne and dabbing tears from their eyes? Of course not.

There would have been a lot of yelling and crying behind the scenes of course but when called on to speak on the microphone a carefully crafted toast would be given. No one would blame the dad if he kept it light and didn't lie about his feelings by saying flowery things about his future son-in-law. But offereing hurtful comments is far different than no lying. At least that is the way it seems to me. It's called being diplomatic.

I worked once worked with a guy who had no filter on his thoughts and in a corporate setting his style wasn't appreciated. He used to come into my office and ask why his honesty wasn't being praised. I asked him he told his daughter or wife exactly what he thought about their outfits when they leave the house. Of course he said no. I told him it is the same thing. There are ways to say things and still get your point across. If you are pressed for more from the subject of your concern you ask them if they REALLY want to hear it. If they say yes you go for it.

Pete Carroll answering question from the press is not the same as Mark Sanchez asking for Carroll's unfiltered view off camera. I think less of Carroll as a result of this and although everyone is entitled to one mistake he doesn't think it is one in the first place. He made that clear in the post-press conference interview. Shame on him. Carroll embarrasses himself

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Matty Leinart, wake up

Updated Thursday 01/15/2009

Sports talk radio guys can get as goofy as FM morning show hosts. You know, the cutesy stuff like song parodies. Well, to prove that point, two Los Angeles hosts that broadcast on 570 KLAC have turned out a gem. One of the hosts, Petros Papadakis is a former USC running back. He loves the game of football, particularly college football and wished he had had the opportunity to play in the pro game.

In LA, we keep close tabs on our college stars as they go through the pro ranks and we have had a few golden children. One of those is Matt Leinart who was king of this city for two full years. He made the most of it by hanging with young celebs who became part of his regular circle and they fed off each other's fame.

He tried to continue to live in that orbit despite the fact that he was signed by the AZ Cards. It is now the end of his third year in the NFL and his starting days have come and gone. He lost his job in his second year to Kurt Warner. And it continued into his third year. With the Cardinals in the NFC Championship game things don't look good for Matty to pry those starting QB reins out of Warner's hands.

He's had problems being serious about doing what he had to do to make that a reality and that is what the parody is about. It takes him to task for caring more about the money, fame, women and silliness. Hey he's a kid. But nonetheless, he has been a big disappointment to his So Cal fans, among whom are Petros and his side kick, Matt 'Money" Smith. Thus the parody sung to the tune of "Desperado". You can find it at thedirty.com. What can I say..it's silly but sad at the same time and sums up how many of us feel about young Matty.

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Rickey Henderson makes it into the HOF

Updated Tuesday 01/13/2009

Three years ago I saw Rickey Henderson play in the Golden League, a small-time professional baseball league with teams in California and Nevada. The guy couldn't hit that well any longer but his sculpted body looked the same. And man, was he fast. He was hands down the fastest player on the field despite the fact that the average guy on his team was half his age.

The Golden League is home to ball players who don't want to stop playing after not being able to make it to the major leagues. Others that reside in the league are retired MLB players who also don't want to stop playing. Rickey was one of them.

Luckily for him, playing in a league that paid him three figures a week, if that, didn't stop the tolling of his five years in retirement to qualify for the Hall of Fame. He made it in yesterday in his first year of eligibility although he wasn't a unanimous choice.

I don't obsess about that stat the way others do since like a game that is won can't be a "bad" win, when you get to the HOF, they don't care how long it took you. In the W/L column it goes under W. But Rickey did get more votes than Willie Mays back in the day. That alone shows that this is a unique and qualified pro that deserves to be where he is. He certainly loves himself and understands his place in history.

If someone else said the things he did about being the greatest of all time we'd hate him, boo him and pretty much trash him. Can you imagine if Barry Bonds announced after his accomplishment that he was the best thing since sliced bread? We know he thinks it but he never said it. Rickey had to tell us that although he respected Lou Brock, who had been the "man" for years, holding the record for stolen bases in a career, he had been toppled by Rickey.

But that's OK. He isn't the brightest bulb in the bunch and never was. He could just flat out play, change a game with his presence on a base and the had the darndest talent to hit lead-off home runs. I cannot wait until his induction speech this summer. I hope no one coaches him and speaks for himself. It will be the most fun anyone has ever had in Cooperstown. Congrats Rickey!

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NBA interim/replacement coaches aren't showing me anything

Updated Monday 01/12/2009

Six coaches bit the dust prior to Christmas, 2008, less than two months into the NBA season.

PJ Carlesimo by the OK Thunder, Dwayne Casey by the Timberwolves, Mo Cheeks by the Philly 76ers, Eddie Jordan of the Washington Wizards, Sam Mitchell of the Toronto Raptors and finally, Reggie Theus by the Sacramento Kings.

Of all those teams who installed either interim coaches or replacements who were given deals for the rest of the season only Philly is consistently better while Minnesota has just peeled off a five game win streak.

And you can make the argument that Philly, which was a late bloomer last season, might just have been that kind of team once again. Their current record is 17-20, not where the team wanted to be after their sizzling seven game, first round playoff series with Boston. But please remember, the 76ers were two games under .500 when they squeeked into the playoffs in a poor Eastern Conference and

Minnesota is an interesting case and perhaps the only team who made a move that you could arguably say had a true purpose. The replacement coach is their long-time executive, Kevin McHale whose tenure can be summed up in one word: terrible. He drafted poorly, traded poorly and ended up giving away his only prized possession, Kevin Garnett, as a gift to him for his loyalty to the team. And a gift to the Boston Celtics, by the way.

Last season their winning percentage was under .300. That is astounding for an established, non-expansion franchise with a seasoned man at the helm (McHale). Their record now is 11-25 and they are on a five game winning streak. Their team is one that has all the tools to be better, perhaps as successful as Philly, despite the lack of a superstar like Elton Brand. If Minnesota turns things around to get close to .500 then McHale has locked himself into a coaching job at his age that might not be the life he wants. I love the fact that he was "sentenced" to live with the choices he made as an exec.

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Charles Barkley has to step aside to get his life in order

Updated Friday 01/09/2009

t had to happen at some point. With the negative press and reactions from his colleagues in sports media, Charles Barkley has decided to step away from the award winning TNT basketball program, Inside the NBA.

According to a report published today on espn.com Barkley's employer had consider suspending him if his blood alcohol level exceeded the legal limit.

The results were released yesterday and when Sir Charles was stopped on Dec. 31st in Scottsdale, Arizona, his blood alcohol level was 1.49, almost twice the legal limit of .08.

But then again, he's a big guy, one who has tried to get smaller. Eating is one of the numerous things that Charles does to excess. Inside the NBA has featured a huge scale that Charles will step on from time to time so that Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson, his on-air colleagues can check his weight loss progress..or lack thereof.

He has admitted he has a gambling problem. Last year after the press got wind of an unpaid debt to the Las Vegas Wynn he swore he wouldn't gamble for at least a year.

The TNT crew will be missing their biggest draw (no pun intended). Many a critic has said that Barkley is the reason he/she watches the show. His most recent self deprecating antics surround the loss of his golf swing. Check out the video below.

This has got to be humiliating for him. No one is spared his criticism and now he will get the same from others. After appearing everywhere on television and radio to make claims of racism about his alma mater, Auburn he has forfeited the right to ask for privacy or leniency. Ouch!

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Detroit fans fume about Millen's job as NBC analyst

Updated Thursday 01/08/2009

Should Matt Millen be entitled to go on the air as a football analyst if he was drummed out of the Detroit Lions organization for non-performance? There are people out there who want Michael Vick to get a second chance to play in the NFL after he is released from prison. There must be room for Millen in the football community if he didn't destroy a living thing, right? You'd be surprised.

There is certainly some outrage in the fan base of the Lions and among fans of other teams. The general feeling is that Millen can't be considered credible to give opinions about the performance of players and coaches since he seemed to make one bad decision after another. Here is what Steve Schrader of the Detroit Free Press had to say: "Lion fans never will be able to listen to Millen pontificate about football and separate it from what he did in this town."

Those decisions gave us insight into his judgment about players and coaches. With the horrendous record of the team during his tenure as an exec why would a television audience want to listen to him or even trust what he says?

Part of what broadcasters rely on is likability and some of their appeal is whether viewers believe they are hearing the opinion of someone who knows what he is talking about.

Apparently NBC Sports thought enough of his previous role as a broadcaster to put him back into a chair behind a desk. Fans might have forgotten that he was a smooth-talking analyst who was considered good enough to whisk away to the front office of one of only 32 teams in the National Football League.

That might have been a bad decision by the owners of the Lions and this might be another bad one made by NBC. I believe that Millen should have taken a break from the sport and saddled up in the off -season when there isn't as much at stake as there is during the playoffs. You know, like for the draft.

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No one likes to sit on the bench

Updated Tuesday 01/06/2009

When a team is cruising and things seem to fall into place, players who aren’t part of the success have a dilemma. If they don’t act happy about being on a winner they are seen as selfish. If they seem happy about the state of affairs they might be seen as guys who aren’t ambitious.

Case in point: Vlad Radmanovich, SF for the Los Angeles Lakers. Radmanovich was part of the starting lineup and lost his job less than a month ago. The Lakers were winning but had dropped one bad game on an east coast swing. They also playing sloppy D and relying on their offense to win.

Radmanovich, not a typical SF but one that stretches the defense on the court because of his long-range shooting, was shooting 43% from three-point range and picking up a few fouls, grabbing some rebounds and generally playing his game.

Coach Phil Jackson thought the team was getting lazy on defense, which is NOT Vlade’s strong suit and wanted more ball movement on the offensive side. The triangle offense is one that depends on movement to various spots on the floor.

Luke Walton, who had started last year in that SF spot had been benched and suffered in silence for the “good of the team”. Except for Kobe, Walton knows the triangle best and can execute it with precision (doesn’t mean he scores well) and was pulled back into the starting rotation at his pal’s expense.


Luke hurt his foot late last week and Vlad did not start in the Lakers’ first game since that time. Trevor Ariza got the nod but Radmanovich came off the bench and contributed big time in the Lakers come from behind thrashing of Portland on Sunday night.

Bottom line: Too much whining and your rep goes into the toilet. Too little and your can’t motivate yourself to perform when called on. A winning team requires that you distinguish yourself which is hard to do on the Lakers with its deep bench.

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The off-season Favre watch has begun

Updated Monday 01/05/2009

This year seems a bit different and yet oh so familiar. The news crawl on ESPN still includes Brett Favre updates among the breaking new items. But some of them are shocking to those that believe that Favre should be on the side of Mount Rushmore.

Three Jets players spoke to the press about their love or lack thereof for their QB and the nastiest stuff was from the one guy that chose to remain anonymous.

Kerry Rhodes and Thomas Jones (voted the team's MVP this season) voiced their concern with Favre's performance or lack thereof in the ugly loss to the Dolphins that kept the team out of the playoffs. Jones clarified his remarks by saying that although he said that a performance like Favre's merited a coach pulling him, he meant it in the general sense. In other words, if he, Thomas Jones had played like that or any other player on the team, he would expect there to be repercussions from the coach. After all it was the play-in game for the Jets and it was win or go home.

Rhodes concentrated on the issue of Favre's being dropped into the team's mix without knowing the offensive schemes and the lack of training camp or pre-season work outs to get him prepared. He said that he'd be happy to have Favre return if he attended off-season meetings and a full training camp.

But it was the off-the-record comments by an unidentified player that got the news machine cranking. The guy said that Favre was aloof, didn't mix and mingle with the guys, never went to dinner with them and closeted himself away from the guys even after the press had left the locker room. Oops!

And then Favre spoke on the record for Peter King of Sports Illustrated. He told King that he said it was about a 50-50 proposition that he might not return and he said as much to the Jets' execs. He opined that if he needed major surgery he might not be willing to do that and the necessary rehab to go back on the field at his age. That's all well and good but 50-50 is what it's always been with Favre. Even when he had given his tearful retirement speech and supposedly was 100% convinced he was done, you saw what happened. Perhaps this year will be different since he has no strong emotional ties with the Jets organization. Or perhaps the anonymous player's comments will motivate him to kick someone in the butt and work hard for the new season. Only time will tell but this will not be over anytime soon.

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Gasol, Ariza and Kobe put on a show as Lakers roll 113-100

Updated Saturday 01/03/2009

First off, let's get this out of the way: the team failed to hold the Utah Jazz under 100 points in last night's game at Staples Center. That meant the assembled crowd failed to get coupons for two free tacos provided by Jack In The Box. You might not think that is a big deal but trust me, when the clock is winding down and it looks like the Lakers will keep their opponent out of triple-digits, the chant of "We Want Tacos" starts to the tune of the "Let's Go Lakers" cheer. The Staples Center crew flashes the tacos demand up on the Jumbotron and the crowd is off to the races.

The veterans on the team know the deal and have to teach it to the new guys each year. Phil is bemused by it all but has come to use it as his standard for judging the defensive performance of the team. After last night's game he said that while the offense was surely in gear, he wasn't pleased that after holding Utah to just 20 points in the first quarter the Lakers had gotten sloppy on D and "didn't get the crowd its tacos".

But back to the game. Pau Gasol reached a milestone by scoring his 10,000th point and becoming only the fourth European player to come over to the NBA and do such a thing. He celebrated by taking the ball up court in a quasi-fast break, dribbled the ball through his legs then faked a behind-the-back pass and got it to Trevor Ariza on a no-look as he cruised in for a dunk. The crowd loved it. Kobe scored 40 without much flourish and Ariza performed his circus-like steal and slam dunk combo at least twice to put the Jazz away in the final couple of minutes.

The team has played only 3 games since beating Boston on Christmas Day and you can see how that game changed them from tense and tight to loose and happy. That should work until they hit their next rough patch but they are enjoying it while they can. Why not?

Comments may be sent to: info@incidentalcontact.com

Oh well...just another Rose Bowl win for USC

Updated Friday 01/02/2009

Happy New Year everyone: what did you do on New Year's Day? Watch any football? Hard not to when you don't feel like moving as a result of being up waaaaay past your normal bed time the previous night.

Did you wait to see the Rose Bowl? If not, then just let me say that if you are inclined not to like Pete Carroll you wouldn't have had a good day. The camera loves the guy since he is animated throughout the game. He yucks it up with the players, encourages them and scolds them. It's all Pete all the time. His players mirror his upbeat attitude and some of them actually link arms on the sidelines and do a little dance routine, more than once.

Contrast that with the Nittany Lions sidelines and realize that there weren't many TV shots of any coach there since Joe Paterno, the team's head coach was up in the booth overlooking the stadium. After hip surgery his MD warned him against being on the grassy field for up to 4 hours (that's another story....why are these games so freaking long?) if he ever wants to heal and walk normally again. So we saw a lot of Joe Pa's unsmiling face and yet never seemed to see him say anything into a headset or to his assistants around him.

The stage is always set for audiences to see the golden/silver fox of a coach and he managed to fire up a team that had every reason to be disappointed about being left out of the Championship Bowl...although it's hard to ignore that Oregon State loss. They took care of their home turf as the Rose Bowl is less than a half hour drive, even in traffic from the USC campus. Give them credit for making it into a spectacle with the white horse, the Trojan and his sword and the gleaming sunshine reflecting off the gold and red uniforms. Just another day at the office for Carroll. The final score was 38-24 and it was never really close. Let the discussions about NFL coaching opportunities begin. Carroll has no reason to leave So Cal to become just one of thirty-two guys with a headset when he can be the West Coast king of NCAA football.

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December 2008

Brett Favre's year in review 2008.

Updated Friday 12/19/2008

As we let the news settle in that Brett Favre, QB of the New York Jets, has made the Pro Bowl for the umpteenth time in his career and take side bets if he'll schlep to Hawaii with Deana and the family, let's remember what it took to get him to this place.

Winter

Favre, still a member of the Green Bay Packers, slinks home to Mississippi after a cruel loss in the NFC Championship game on the home field of Lambeau. He threw an interception in overtime that paved the way for the New York Giants to go to the Super Bowl.

Speculation begins about his future in Green Bay.

The Packers press him for a decision to avoid the previous year's strung-out process. Aaron Rodgers keeps mum on it all and waits to learn his fate as the new starter on the Packers or the perpetual backup.

Favre calls a press conference and mesmerizes the public with a tearful and seemingly clear statement: I am retiring of my own volition.

Speculation begins anew that he is not clear on that statement. He has conversations almost immediately including with the Packers about returning. The team's concern is that he isn't 100% certain, just as he wasn't prior to the announcement.

The Packers are relieved, name Rodgers their starter and set about planning for their first draft without having to keep Favre in mind, except they do. Brett is having retirement remorse.

Spring

Favre, the Packers and sports media begin a months'-long soap opera about whether the Packers gave Favre the signal that they wanted him gone and if he jumped too soon.

The contractual side of the story gets ugly as the Packers refuse to consider Favre's return. If he doesn't file retirement papers the team owns his rights and refuses to consider releasing him which would net them nothing in return, especially if he goes to a rival.

Favre takes the bait and starts taunting the team with going to a division rival but...he can''t say for certain if he wants to play at all. He still might retire but he doesn't understand why he wouldn't be welcomed back to Green Bay.

The war of wills continues as Packers fans are split down the middle on the loyalty front. Half believe he should come back, half don't.

Summer

Favre shows up in Green Bay via private jet, as training camp is in progress, won't take questions about his future and realizes there isn't much sentiment left for him in Wisconsin. The impasse over him wanting a release and not being accommodated with one gets deeper.

He goes on Fox News with Greta Van Susteren to tell his sad tale of woe. Still can't understand why the Packers won't release him from his contract if they don't want him to start for them any longer

The commissioner gets involved and asks both sides to enter counseling. The Packers show their good faith by saying he'll be benched and hold a clipboard for Rodgers if he wants to stay in Green Bay. Favre threatens to go to Minnesota and beat the Packers brains in. This is why they needed counseling.

Favre signs reinstatement papers but doesn't file them. The Packers get down and dirty and claim he is a malcontent who just wants it all his way. Immediately, the team hires a PR specialist who used to work at the White House but some say it's too late.

Reinstatement papers are filed and commissioner expresses sadness as he accepts the inevitable.

Packers and Favre's agent get down to business to try to break the impasse of where his rights get traded. Minnesota Vikings look like jerks for having had conversations with Favre supposedly about fishing and hunting, not about coming to their team.

The sweepstakes begin in the NFL. Jon Gruden pisses off his QB by considering Favre joining him. The Packers have offered Brett an alternative to playing for them or anyone: a ten year marketing agreement with unspecified responsibilities but a pay check of $25 million in total. And that is a first offer.

Favre who a month prior wasn't interested in New York signs with the Jets, gets welcomed by the Mayor of New York and Jets fans dance in the streets. EA is forced to provide download image of Favre in Jets' uni after their game went to press with him in Packers' colors.

Fall

Favre starts slow, gets on a roll, settles back down to earth and proceeds to take the moribund team to the brink of the playoffs and gets voted into the Pro Bowl.

Future?

What's in store for this offseason? Why wait for that? Favre is already starting the cycle of drama again as he told the media in New York that these last few games might be his last. Don't act surprised. It's got to be this way for him and unfortunately for fans of the team he plays for.

Happy New Year, everyone

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The NFL seems to throw up on itself when it gets involved with disabled player issues

Updated Monday 12/15/2008

Shame on Harry Carson. Although he has been a staunch supporter of the plight of ex-NFL players who are ill and unable to care for themselves or pay for their own care, on this point he made a big mistake.

The league set up a meeting for private discussions between it and retired players relating to the issues of their health needs, disability benefits and medical care, Eleanor Perfetto wife of Ralph Wenzel who suffers from dementia was denied access. Wenzel played for the Steelers and Chargers from 1966 to 1973.

The league had heard from her prior to the meeting date and she was told the ex-player attendees wanted it to be a private affair. But Ms. Perfetto isn't just any wife, She is director for health policy at Pfizer and specifically wanted to be at the table to represent her husband who if he were able would have attended.

Her point is a good one. If the NFL wants to understand what it takes to try and care for a player that can't help himself any longer, the caregiver should be heard. Harry Carson's point of view was that of an older gentleman who is used to being courteous and respectful around women. Nothing wrong with that. But when the excuse of being afraid to use strong language with women in the room overrides hearing a factual account of what life is like for the very players and families that are the subject of the meeting then that is pure nonsense.

Carson did say that perhaps an exception should be made for Perfetto and others in the future whose spouses are unable to sit at the table and contribute. You think?

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Brian Cashman had to recruit in person to get CC Sabathia

Updated Friday 12/12/2008

When did this happen? When did the most famous team in baseball in one of the world's great cities have to sell itself? So much so that the New York Yankees had to bid against themselves to sign the biggest free agent pitcher on the market.

Brian Cashman, the team's general manager played the role of a college football coach trying to recruit a high school senior when he flew to the home of CC Sabathia. He chatted with him and his wife about why they should be happy to move to New York and become part of the Yankees family. He had to throw more money into a monstrously great offer and give the pitcher the right to flee town after three years if he didn't like it.

Was it after Randy Johnson got to town, growled at paparazzi and then proceeded to struggle with injuries and bad pitching performances before he ran out of there? Or was it the treatment given to Alex Rodriguez, one of baseball's premier hitters when his every word just didn't seem to hit the right note with the daily papers in the city?

Whatever it is has put the Big Apple in the position of a small market city with a climate that isn't ideal for outdoor sports. In that situation you have to bring brochures produced by the Chamber of Commerce, talk about how a mansion is now affordable in a less expensive housing market and stress the family friendly nature of the environment.

For those that don't know, New York City has beautiful suburbs within easy driving distance of Yankee Stadium. Most of the stars on the team who have families don't live in the city. When the largest pot of money on the planet is sitting in front of you to take and you have to be convinced to reach for it that indicates a problem of large proportions. God knows the tabloid press in the city won't be changing anytime soon but in this Internet age, you don't have to live in New York to get your chain yanked on Dead Spin or ESPN. Does anyone have an answer for me that sounds plausible?

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NBA in 3-D: get ready for All Star weekend

Updated Thursday 12/11/2008

Some of those that were lucky enough to see the exclusive screenings of the recent Oakland Raiders/San Diego Chargers game broadcast in 3-D can attest to the fact that when a player ran out of bounds towards a camera, viewers jumped out of their seats to avoid the collision. That's how life-like it was.

Well hold on to your hats, because 3-D HD is coming to the NBA and it is expected to be on a much grander scale than the NFL experiment that was available only to a select few in three venues around the country.

Sports Business Daily reported today that Turner Broadcasting is teaming up with the NBA to bring us all the fun and games from Saturday night of All Star weekend. You know what that means right? Dunk, three-point shooting and skills contests. Don't you wish you could have seen the Superman routine of Dwight Howard in this format?

There are expected to be 80 venues including movie theaters from multiple theater chains that will charge about $20 for a ticket to see this extravaganza.

USA Today reports that some plans haven't been finalized yet and we'll have to wait a bit longer to find out if we will watch this event as if we were at the arena in Phoenix or with audio feeds from television that include the broadcast announcers calling all the action.

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The Manhood Challenge

Updated Tuesday 12/09/2008

Sports talk radio and television personality Jim Rome uses the phrase: football is a man's game..a man's game. He uses it a lot. Mostly just to prove the point that there is no crying in the sport, you get hurt but have to suck it up and only "real" men should engage in the activity of playing it, coaching it or owning it. Thus we have the manhood challenge. Here are today's players:

Marion Barber: have you ever seen him run? if you have you know that he is a battering ram with feet that never stop. He bounces off tacklers as if they were made of rubber and he was Bill Parcells' choice (a real man himself) to take Julius Jones' starting job in Dallas a few years ago. But his owner, Jerry Jones has reportedly questioned his ability to play hurt. Are you kidding me? Nope. No word back from Barber or coach Wade Phillips. If I"m Jerry Jones I have to hope that Marion Barber is a forgiving guy.

Tommy Tuberville: what do you expect from a guy who has to explain to his mother why he isn't going into the office on Monday? His mother wouldn't understand the corporate code of taking a bullet like a good soldier and leaving before your own troops kill you. But he had to tell her something and what he did was tell her he was fired. That's not the approved line at Auburn however and no matter what the nice lady says, the school denies it.

Rod Marinelli: every week he comes to take his beating at the Monday press conference and he's starting to get aggressive about it. He declared himself a man and said that men come to work every day even if they don't like it, it's painful or they'd rather pull the sheets back over their head and stay in bed. Not the most glowing recommendation for the Detroit Lions players to want to be there with this real man but then again, how many times can you say the same thing? We stink, end of story.

Let's recap: Marinelli man'd up so that his players had a reason to continue to be pounded. Marion Barber didn't travel to Pittsburgh with the Cowboys to nurse his dislocated pinkie toe. Tommy Tuberville spilled the truth to his mom about how he left his head coaching job at Auburn.

My choice for the winner is Rod Marinelli. The fact that he hasn't taken out some reporter who asks him the same questions over and over is a miracle. That shows fortitude and maturity. For that alone he should win. Now, that doesn't mean he's a good coach or anything. You see how this works?

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NFL Week 14 games summaries and scores

Updated Monday 12/08/2008

Thursday night's game featuring the Raiders and San Diego seems like weeks ago. But it's Groundhog Day for Oakland fans as JaMarcus Russell goes down, the turnovers continue and even the defense has made reservations for the off season. Chargers 34-17 Eagles v. Giants: The talk has already begun that the Giants were negatively affected by the Plaxico/Antonio Pierce BS. How about giving some credit to Jim Johnson's defensive schemes? Jacobs runs for only 52 and leaves with an injury as Eli is held to under 125 yards passing. Eagles 20-14 Browns vs. Titans: The Titans made the most of playing Cleveland at home as their balanced running/passing game was on full display. The Browns are rumored to be dreaming of Schottenheimer. Titans 28-9 Falcons v. Saints: The best game of the day in my opinion. Young Matt Ryan throws for 300+ yards but couldn't pull off a last minute drive. Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas put on a show for the folks in the Super Dome. Saints 29-24 Bengals v. Colts: It wasn't pretty for Cincy fans but Colts fans reacquainted themselves with Marvin Harrison who led the team in receiving yards. Colts 35-3 Texans v. Packers: This is getting repetitive, Aaron Rodgers has a great day but the Pack loses on the frozen tundra. Matt Schaub looks fully recovered and passes for more than 400 yards but it wasn't exactly an easy win. Texans have a tremendously balanced offense with Slayton at RB and Johnson, Daniels and Walter receiving. Texans 24-21 Minnesota v. Detroit: For a moment in time I thought the whole dust-up over the Bumetanide suspensions was going to be for nothing. But in the end, the Lions realized they were...well the Lions. Tavaris Jackson came in for a fallen Gus Frerotte and saved the day with his mobility while Adrian Peterson ran for over 100 yards. Vikings 20-16. Jaguars v. Bears: Jacksonville should just hang out a shingle that says "Gone Fishing". They may have offensive weapons but it's hard to tell. The defense has had its share of injuries but their last two outings have been pathetic. I'll bet they don't win another game this season. Bears 23-10 Patriots v. Seahawks: Deion Branch had a point to prove to his former team and scored twice. The Pats had yet another LB injured and used their latest retread Junior Seau. In the end, New England was more mentally tough and having Wes Welker saved their bacon. Pats 24-21 Jets v. 49ers: New York flew across the country and realized why the west coast teams have such a rough time going back the other way. San Francisco has a real rhythm on their offense with Shaun Hill and Frank Gore. Favre ran one in as did Thomas Jones but nothing else worked all that well on offense for the Jets who lost their second in a row. 49ers 24-14 Chiefs v. Broncos: Cutler showed Thigpen how it's done in the NFL by hitting 8 different receivers and throwing 2 TD's to Brandon Marshall. The Denver D held KC's ground game to under 100 yards and a big goose egg on the score board during the third and fourth quarters after being down at half time. Broncos 24-17 Dolphins v. Bills: You've got to feel for the Buffalo fans. This is a game they look forward to as the boys of South Florida come into the cold. But in a dome in Toronto the crowd cheered for Ricky Williams who played for the Argonauts of the CFL. It wasn't pretty but Dolphins' wins rarely are. Dolphins 16-3 Cowboy v. Steelers: At half time the score was 3-3. Wade Phillips' excuse for the poor performance of Tony Romo was the cold. Mike Tomlin explained his QB's lack of success on Dallas' D. Things heated up in the 4th Q. If you blinked you missed it. Pittsburgh scored two touchdowns in a nano second with the winner coming on a Romo interception Steelers 20-13 Rams v. Cardinals: Arizona feasted on the Rams as they won the game as well as their first division title in 33 freaking years. Warner has a quiet day for him but the AZ defense made up the difference. Cards 34-10 Redskins v. Ravens: What the heck happened to the Skins? Their offense looks lost and it isn't just the lack of a healthy Clinton Portis. The Ravens give up a touchdown to an opposing team for the first time in 46 possessions but scored enough on offense and defense to coast to another win. Ravens 24-10

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November 2008

Boomer Berman talks to Obama and McCain on election-eve

Updated Monday 11/03/2008

When you think about how candidates gravitate to certain demographic groups via appearances on the Comedy Channel or Oprah you think of them being up to date on what those audiences want to hear. What do you think football fans want to hear from Obama and McCain during halftime on MNF? And will Chris Berman be more Stephen Colbert or Chris Matthews as the interviewer? Berman will question the presidential candidates in separate pre-recorded segments to be played during halftime of the Steelers/Redskins game. I think his cheat sheet of questions might go something like this: Obama Do you mind if I call you Barry "Sanders" Obama? After all, you are from Chicago, a Bears fan and the Lions played with them in NFC "Norris" division. And speaking of Chicago, former Bears LB, Mike Singletary resorted to pulling down his pants in front of his players to make a point. Don't you think the players should have had pre-conditions before that kind of a meeting? Would you ever resort to the Wildcat offense to deal with Iran and who would take the direct snap? Miller Lite or Bud Light? These games already start late and end late. Aren't you afraid to p---s off fans who want to get to bed before midnight? McCain Do you think Al Davis is too old to run the Raiders? You've lived for years in Washington, DC. Can you name the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals? You look like a hot head. Have you ever de-cleated someone? Can you confirm or deny the rumors that you and Sarah Palin were "Standing in the Shadows of Love"? Do you think you could...go...all...the...way? Email me more suggestions at info@incidentalcontact.com

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October 2008

Just another NFL Sunday....2 concussions and counting

Updated Monday 10/20/2008

Ike Hilliard of the Tampa Bay Bucs was the deli meat in a sandwich on Sunday night. He should have had tomato, pickle and lettuce added. It might have cushioned the blow on a double-team tackle. The two slices of bread for the sandwich were Lofa Tatupu and Leroy Hill of the Seahawks. The meat bit back and Tatupu ended up on the sideline as well, having some trainer ask him if he knew what day it was.

What else is new? Although I'll admit it is a bit unusual for two players involved in one tackle to end up with concussions it is not surprising. You can say it is surprising if any team gets through one game without a player experiencing head trauma that results in a concussion. We've come to look at them as part of the normal course of doing football in the NFL. It is a disgrace because it doesn't have to happen. Or if it continues it doesn't have to be so often.

The New England Patriots, the team of Spygate fame and winner of 3 Super Bowls in the last 6 years has another title worth noting: they use the Maher mouth guard to protect the health of their players. Their team dentist, Dr. Gerald Maher is the inventor of a small piece of equipment with which he's had enormous success. For the three decades of his tenure with the Pats, he has reduced their occurrence of concussions to the point where no one other than Ted Johnson, former lineman, has reported a concussion in recent memory (no pun intended).

His product has been put to use in high school and college athletics programs around the country, the sport of boxing, starting with Marvelous Marvin Hagler and now the military has come calling. The way it works is simple: it keeps an athlete's jaw steady so that in a violent collision, the jawbone is not shoved back into the temporal love of the brain. The device costs about $400.00, players like to wear it since it doesn't block their breathing like others they've tried and they believe it has saved them from suffering physical damage that could be catastrophic in later life.

The NFL endorses a specific kind of football helmet but hasn't gotten around to the Maher mouth guard. If you believe Dr. Maher, the chin strap on the helmet is a problem the mouth guard is meant to deal with. Do they know about it? Of course they do. Although Dr. Maher is the team dentist for the Patriots, other players in the league use the product and as they travel from team to team in their careers they have spread the word. The league hasn't gotten around to doing business with Dr. Maher in any capacity. They haven't been able to get him in on any research they are in the midst of to study this problem. Even if they believe they have to have the laboratory results to solidify an official endorsement, why wouldn't they point players to the Patriots and have them make a decision for themselves? I don't know. In the meantime, Mr. Hilliard and Mr. Totupa are hearing bells, birds tweeting and sitting on the sidelines.

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Did Barry Bonds deserve a job this past season?

Updated Friday 10/17/2008

I get the fact that if you are ready, willing and able to work and denied that ability for an illegal reason you have a beef. I also understand that when you are a person that is so radioactive that you glow in the dark, there might be a legitimate reason for that denial. Here's the deal: if every owner in baseball independently decided that Barry Bonds wasn't necessary or wanted in his team's clubhouse we are all good. Not that Bonds feels good but he's got nothing to complain about other than it being sad and unfair to him.

The facts that raise the right to complain into a union grievance are contained in evidence gathered by the player's union that purports to show that baseball owners agreed with each other to block Bonds' return. It's as easy as a game of telephone: Hank Steinbrenner calls Frank McCourt who calls Arte Moreno and so on and so on. The key to collusion is agreement and action in furtherance of that agreement. When Jeff Borris, Bonds' agent went around the league and got a "no thank you" when he offered the services of his client he must have heard something other than "no"; if he didn't he just presumed collusion out of thirty rejections. But if he heard some hesitation or was asked for time to reconsider followed by a resolute "no" then he had to think that whoever he talked to went back to the well for strength and ways to resist the temptation to have the slugger in the lineup.

I had hypothesized that if there was a team that would cave in it would have been the Tampa Rays who lost Evan Longoria for a significant period in the second half of the season. A team as young and inexperienced as the Rays might have welcomed a guy who would put the spotlight on himself and tell stories about how to deal with pressure. You know, sort of like what Manny Ramirez did for the Dodgers. But then again, Manny's only grievous sin was dogging it and being disruptive in the Boston clubhouse. After a day or so those questions got put to bed and he just started hitting like a machine. With Bonds, the pending perjury trial and all the baggage that came with his virtual ouster in San Francisco would make the clubhouse a feeding frenzy from time to time when news would pop up on legal maneuvering by Bonds criminal lawyers.

Rules are rules and collusion to get around legal requirements in your respective business will land you in hot water. I never thought there would be a reason for the owners to be jerks about it all if they could have been true to their convictions. But if they never had any convictions at all and just "went along to get along" then they will get what they deserve.

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Pacman might be going down for the last time

Updated Tuesday 10/14/2008

Adam "Pacman" Jones has done the unthinkable...at least in the mind of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Good old Jerry who thinks he is running a rehab center for NFL players who get in trouble over and over thought that he could work a miracle with Adam Jones. The problem is that he isn't ready to be redeemed. If he were he'd figure out that he'd landed in a great place with people willing to stick their neck out for him to play in the most popular sports league in the country on the team that considers itself to be America's Team: the Dallas Cowboys.

Ask any guy who was a walk-on with an NFL team at training camp this past summer if he'd kill for the chance that Adam Jones looks like he's screwed up. Here's what he had to do and then what he actually did. To remain in the league after a full year's suspension for multiple arrests and a plea deal to a felony, he had to stay out of trouble that requires the presence of the police.....unless he was in a car accident that he didn't cause. Instead, he got into a fight with the bodyguard the team hired to keep him out of trouble; one of four that provides 'round the clock coverage. Police were called to the scene where there was no arrest made and no charges pressed for the fight and the broken restroom mirror. The team looks at his itinerary and vetoes any activity they consider inappropriate. In this context, inappropriate means any place that he'd be tempted to start a fight, have too much to drink, get into a sex crazed state at the site of strippers, have drunken strangers pick on him to try and incite a fight and generally land on the front page of the papers and on the police blotter in any place in America.

What's that? It's not your average night on the town? Well of course it isn't but it is Adam Jones' fate to be arrested, stopped by the police for questioning, charged with crimes, have charges dropped and plea bargain them away. Does this sound like a guy you'd want to represent one of the foremost brand names in the world of sports? Jerry Jones has had success with two other trouble makers who landed on his team and I guess he started to think he was freaking Mother Theresa, healing the sick and tending to the wounded. The other two guys, Terrell Owens and "Tank" Johnson were not nearly as problematic even when they were in trouble. Owens' problems are not criminal, they are emotional. He stirs up trouble on every team he plays with, points the fingers at others disrupts the team's culture and turns his teammates against him. He had to grovel to get this gig on the Cowboys and it looks like he has found a way to behave himself...at least for now. Tank Johnson had an affinity for guns and until he did 6 months in jail, he didn't understand that he isn't entitled to have many of them, some of them assault weapons and unlicensed. He is the most repentant and appears to be a great hire for the team.

But Pacman needs babysitting and then gets into a fight at some celeb event at a fancy hotel in Dallas....with the guy paid to keep him out of trouble. The NFL had him on a short leash and told him that any other shenanigans and he'd be history. Commissioner Goodell is waiting for the news of whether this incident violated the terms of his probation. If so, Pacman is toast.

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No need for Viagra in the Dodgers dugout today

Updated Monday 10/13/2008

Men behaving badly would be Ok with me. But men behaving like professional wrestlers is not. What a charade the whole retaliation dance was last night at Dodgers Stadium. Here's the scene: the Phillies wouldn't stop testing the Dodgers to see if they would fight back and stop the Phillies' pitchers from throwing at, near and over the bodies and heads of the Dodger hitters. It started in game 2 on Friday night in Philadelphia and the Dodgers pitcher that night didn't retaliate by plunking one of the Phillies hitters. The Dodgers tried to take it out on Philadelphia on the field by beating them; what a concept! Anyway, back to the wrestling reference. In game 3 at Dodger Stadium, the Phils wouldn't let well enough alone and ramped up the bean ball activity by actually smacking the Dodgers star catcher in the leg with a fastball. The kid was the victim of a nasty inside pitch in his next at-bat that made him jump back. At that point he lost it when he couldn't manage more than a ground out to short stop.

In the Phillies half of the next inning it was not a matter of whether pitcher Hiroki Kuroda would throw at some one but who it would be and where the pitch would land. Center fielder Shane Victorino was the victim and the ball sailed behind and above his head, much like the pitch by Phillies pitcher Myers threw at Manny Ramirez in game 2. Victorino protested that it should have been thrown at his body, actually offering to take one off his belly or leg rather than one thrown near his head. All the manly men who were screaming for the Dodgers to "do something" were happy and we could all go back to our regularly scheduled ball game that was still in progress.

The fact that a hitter was trying to direct and orchestrate the pay back pitch that he knew had to be thrown just means that the tactic is no longer meaningful except as a bully-stopper. The Phillies insistence on continuing to throw at Dodger hitters was getting worse as the games progressed. When Russell Martin, the Dodgers catcher was hit in the leg he didn't just shake it off and trot down to first base. He bent over and grimaced which in the sports world means that it is more than a manly man can take without showing it. We mere mortals we would be dialing 911 and asking for morphine on the spot.

Like the school bully, the Phillies were not going to stop until they were made to. Oy vey, it's a pre-pubescent parental lesson more than a baseball bromide that there must be retaliation against a bully. So when all was said and done, the Phillies stopped plunking Dodgers, the Dodgers felt like real men and the game went on to its conclusion. Isn't this an episode of Monday Night Raw from the WWE? All the action is staged, no one gets put into the hospital and it wraps up in time for the 11 o'clock news. Enough already.

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Will Javon Walker ever be right again?

Updated Thursday 10/09/2008

I'm not a mental health counselor or a medical professional...I only play one on my blog and thus I have a suggestion for Oakland wide receiver Javon Walker: get yourself to a clinic and get better. Don't let the experience of Heather Locklear deter you. She put herself in a re-hab for depression and anxiety and then wrongly got behind the wheel of a car while she was taking all that good medication she was prescribed. Bad decision Heather but the stay at a clinic was probably a necessity and either your handlers or your family or both told you to get into a program and save your life as well as your career. Same advice for Walker.

This young man was in a speeding car when gunshots pierced the windows and struck his dear friend Darrent Williams, a fellow member of the Denver Broncos, who died in Walker's lap as his wounds bled him to death. That was on New Year's Eve 2006 and the 2007 season was a lost one for Walker. He had a knee injury and played in only a handful of games. He was unproductive and was cut from his 5 year deal with the Broncos but quickly signed by the Oakland Raiders to a $55M contract. 2008 had dawned with some hope that his bad luck was over. A change of scenery and outlook was just what he needed.

But then his past caught up with him. He was found one morning this spring beaten, robbed and unconscious on a street in Las Vegas. His first comments after being treated in a hospital were that he had been kidnapped from his room in a Vegas hotel and left for dead by people he didn't know. When that didn't fly as an explanation for a big strong football player the police filled in the finer points for the rest of us. Walker has been partying up a storm, gotten toasted and some guys he had met wanted him to go somewhere else and continue the party. The result was the attack.

Walker hadn't been the same after the post traumatic shock of having been in a car that was strafed with gunfire as his friend died. He withdrew from his friends and family and then his knee injury made the 2007 season a nightmare for him as well. When the Vegas attack happened the media and the rest of the football community learned how troubled this young man was. He could no sooner admit he had been drunk and fooled by strangers than he could admit he needed help to get over the death of Darrent Williams.

The Raiders brought him into Oakland and kept him away from media. He hasn't spoken much in months and his season on the field has not gone the way he wanted it to. He missed the first game of a season with what was reported as a hamstring injury. There were questions about whether all that was true. He has appeared in the other 4 games the team has played but has caught only 4 balls for a total of 52 yards and no touchdowns. But more telling than that was the reaction of Walker prior to his appearance at the team's training camp this summer. He offered to retire, return the bonus money the team paid him and disappear. Al Davis, the SOB I excoriated a week ago for his treatment of Lane Kiffin has gone all Mr. Softy on Walker. The Raiders are in need of offense in the worst way and if Walker is healthy a youngster like QB JaMarcus Russell could use a play maker like the old Javon Walker, just ask Brett Favre. Here's hoping someone gets in this kid's ear and helps him understand that addressing his mental health is now more important than his physical health.

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Cubs lose, NFL quarterbacks keep going down and O.J. gets jailed

Updated Monday 10/06/2008

Weekend wrap-up: O.J. Simpson was found guilty on charges of kidnapping and robbery stemming from an arrest in 2007 in Las Vegas. Simpson and a group of men charged into a hotel meeting room in an effort to retrieve memorabilia that Simpson claimed had been illegally taken from him. One member of the group brandished a gun while others shut the doors to the room and verbally threatened the memorabilia dealers with violence if they tried to leave. Four of the men pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against Simpson and his one co-defendant, Clarence Stewart. The jury took one day to render its verdict and the defendants were immediately taken into custody and denied bail by the presiding judge. Simpson faces a sentence that could find him in jail for the rest of his life. His lawyer feared this outcome that he attributes, at least in part, to a sense of "delayed justice" as he described it. The jury, according to the attorney for Simpson might have been unable to ignore facts not at issue in this particular case while still mindful of the not guilty verdict from 1995. If that was his fear, either he or his client thought it was prudent to go to trial rather than plead to a lesser charge. My assumption is that Simpson believed he would not be convicted and refused to plead and do any time. Oops.

Do we really need more NFL quarterbacks to do down or hobble through games with injuries they are trying to ignore? Trent Edwards suffered a concussion and J.P. Losman did a good job in relief for a guy who used to be the starter and then lost his job to Edwards. In the end it wasn't meant to be and the Bills lost for the first time this season. Matt Schaub gave way to Sage Rosenfels who promptly did what you don't want a substitute to do: give the game away. You know the phrase "manage the game"? That is the antithesis of what Rosenfels did. It would be interesting to see if the Offensive Coordinator asked more from the young man than he could give or if the back-up just tried to do too much. With Steve Slayton running as he was and with a big lead, all that had to be done was to pick up a couple of first downs, let the defense do its work and head to the showers. Oops, again.

And finally, the Cubs choked their way to another early winter break. No curse could be blamed for their lackluster performance and the Dodgers are moving on. What does that mean to Chicago? It meant a lot a couple of days ago but today, they can celebrate the Bears who looked good against Detroit yesterday. You know they don't give a damn about the White Sox and in fact, it probably hurts them more to contemplate the fact that the Sox have a chance to move on again. No oops here folks, just plain disgust.

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Wrigley Field needs Boo Weekley

Updated Thursday 10/02/2008

Here's my take on the fans at Wrigley turning on their team in the middle of the first game of a 5 game series against the Dodgers in the NLDS. They're idiots and the players don't appreciate it. I know, I know, players get paid millions to do their best and make the owners of the clubs happy so you'd think that motivating them with fame and fortune would work. But it doesn't make them win. They can try hard, do their best and still not win. Is that too complex for fans to understand. I don't think so but they'd have to be urged on from those of us who talk and write about the action on the field. So I'll try.

I have been a sports fan since I was a child. When my father tutored me about the rules of the game and how to watch and follow the action, I was filled with hope most of the time. My Dad was a believer in the tide turning, the law of averages and in the magic that happens when a player happens to execute the way he/she wants to. There were times when he would get in a bit of a funk and be mad at one of his favorite players. He was famous for proclaiming, "He stinks, he stinks, he stinks" when a player had let him down once too often. But in general my brother and I learned to be optimistic as my father taught us to believe in the phrase, "He's due".

Because I was rooting for the Dodgers last night, I used the "he's due" refrain as batters kept being walked by Ryan Demptster. And despite the fact that the Dodgers heavy hitters had left men on base and their playoff history in the course of the last 2 decades seemed to indicate they would falter once they got behind, I still was able to use that inspiration from my father's famous phrase. I was rewarded for my trust. Why could I do that? Well, I see each experience on the field as less about the patterns of the past as the patterns of the present. I look at the Dodgers as what they are, an average team with average results. That means they shouldn't be swept in the series and if that's true then they have to win at least one game. My thoughts were, why shouldn't it be THIS game? And so it was.

But Cubs fans still believe in curses, cats, goats, Bartman and all that BS. The Cubs are more than an average team; the Cubs are an above average team, certainly not dominant but clearly favored to win against Los Angeles. If that is true then in a 5 game series, they are bound to win 3. They lost last night and they should win today if they believe that they are "due". Why don't they say that? Why doesn't Piniella say that? I don't know and thus the fans go into their funk and the players do nothing about it. What about the Boo Weekley arm-waving technique? That's it, get Boo Weekley on a plane to Wrigley, and see what the North Side thinks of the hick who uses golf clubs as a substitute for a horse. Boo to the rescue please. Can Sam Zell send a plane for him? Right now? Please?

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Al Davis left his crypt to publicly rip Lane Kiffin

Updated Wednesday 10/01/2008

Don't tell me you weren't astounded at two things when you watched the Al Davis press conference whether live or on tape via ESPN. 1) Wow, he looks BAD and 2) Holy crap, he can speak in full sentences, read out loud and remember things that happened more a day ago.

OK, maybe I'm being unnecessarily cruel and nasty but come on now, what the hell is wrong with his face other than the fact that he is nearly 80 years old now? Whatever it is, it doesn't appear that he sees the light of day very much. Maybe that is by design since we have heard from Tim Kawakami, the great columnist at the San Jose Mercury News that Al and his cohorts don't arrive at the office until late afternoon and then work into the night. I guess Al likes that rock star life but as Kawakami said last week, it makes it difficult to get anything done with people who keep regular daytime hours. Thus, his pallor might be related to him being more comfortable working at night. Did he audition for the HBO show, "True Blood"?

Once I got past what he looked like I frankly was surprised that he seemed coherent and present for a two act media spectacle; the first part of which was dedicated to calling Chris Mortensen of ESPN a liar and complicit in the "propaganda" that Lane Kiffin had engaged in for more than a year, or as Al said, for "time" (don't ask me what it means). The man who coined the phrase, "Just Win Baby" and made his team's motto, "Commitment to Excellence" said he fired Kiffin for lying, defying Davis' edicts that were contained in a warning letter to his employee and conspiring with the media to make Al the bad guy. He specifically said it had nothing to do with the club's dismal 1-3 record.

That doesn't mean that Al is happy about the team's performance. He spoke about how his off-season acquisitions will succeed if he has a head coach that believes that. Kiffin doesn't according to Davis and he was publicly flogged and outed as being a naysayer, a clueless coach who doesn't know how to use time-outs in a close game, a bad colleague who slams his defensive coordinator and of course a dastardly liar.

Al came out of the crypt to put on a slide presentation as if he were a human resources chief rather than the principal owner of a club. He documented the warnings he gave Kiffin and as if he already knew he wouldn't be credible in the eyes of the media, he had an image of the letter on a screen behind him so that cameras could capture it all.

Al revealed that he had set up Kiffin, left him hanging in public so he could shoot himself in the foot to Al's satisfaction and then publicly rip him to be certain he wouldn't get another job. Well he didn't actually say that but you can presume that he wasn't giving the guy a recommendation. Al is astounding but still the head of operations at the Raiders organization. God help the interim coach and others that follow. Crypts make for strange bedfellows don't you know?

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September 2008

Al Davis is an S.O.B.

Updated Tuesday 09/30/2008

Al Davis is no stranger to litigation. He took on the NFL twice and even though he lost once and faced sanctions from his fellow owners he never stops cooking up scenarios to threaten lawsuits. He swore out a complaint against the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers claiming the Bucs' logo and the Panthers' uniform colors infringed the Raiders logo and their uniform colors. He wanted the teams to change their uniforms when they set foot in the state of California. Yeah, right.

The latest litigation sure to come Al's way will be care of Lane Kiffin, fired today by Davis from his position as head coach of the Raiders. Kiffin had finished only the first season under his 2 year contract when in the off season, Al sent him a pre-drafted resignation letter and asked that he just put his John Hancock on it. Al does things for reasons only known to him, and a couple of trusted advisers that seem to change as time goes on. Kiffin realized he was on the hot seat, no kidding, but smartly didn't quit or sign Al's ill conceived letter. His contract provides for a golden parachute if Kiffin is fired except if it is for "cause".

Employment contract severance clauses vary in language but in general, all bets are off on a payout if you breach the terms of the contract. One way to do that is insubordination and maybe, just maybe, Davis will say that Kiffin's refusal to sign the resignation letter gives him all the cause he needs. That circular thinking isn't just stupid, it violates the spirit of fair play that is inherent in all contracts. But that's Davis for you. He was so pissed off that Kiffin wouldn't resign he let the coach stew in his own juices in front of national media and fans, just waiting to be fired. Davis hoped he would render Kiffin impotent and ineffectual as a coach and a man. Davis might have thought that no "real" man would allow himself to be humiliated in public for another full contract year. He was wrong about Kiffin and wrong about the fact that he would be broken by it all. The Kiffin Watch began early this year with the spurned resignation letter and continued through the off-season and 4 games into this season. Kiffin wasn't even allowed to confer with his defensive coordinator about strategy or personnel. When he said it out loud he was blasted for it by Al's media people. Maybe talking out in public about his problems with Davis is what Al's been waiting for to show insubordination. Who knows, but here's the last indignity: Kiffin was called on the phone and fired. It's as bad as the Post-It break up from Sex and the City. And it will be fodder for a lawsuit. Al's ready for it and perversely enjoys it. What an S.O.B.

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The Manny Dilemma

Updated Monday 09/29/2008

We've all heard about the Manny Effect on the Los Angeles Dodgers. He loosened up the clubhouse with his music, paid attention to all his teammates, taught the youngsters how to prepare for a game, cut his hair just enough to pass the Torre-test and finally, hit .400 most of the two months in LA while batting-in more than one run per game he played. The Dodgers ended up 6 games over .500 after hovering a game or two under .500 prior to Manny's arrival. Both Jeff Kent, Dodgers second baseman and outfielder Andre Ethier had their averages soar to .500 while batting in front of Manny while "Man Ram" ran out ground balls to first and stole a base or two.

You'd have thought he had sufficiently pissed off the Red Sox as he pulled the stunts that got him jettisoned out of there but oh no my friends. Manny's rebirth in LA hit a nerve in Sox pitcher Curt Schilling's body which propelled Schil to go on a talk radio rant about Ramirez and confirm publicly what many had whispered: his teammates voted him off the island. But this is LA. We like star power and personalities that make us feel special enough to schelp to the ball park and sit through long games. Manny was perfect for this town. We've had to live through the travail of Shaq, Phil and Kobe so believe me we know drama and that's the way we like it. We understand that stars have temperaments that defy the social rules most of us live by and Manny is one of them.

Clubhouse rifts are nothing new to us but not playing hard and calling in sick to prove a point is a bit much, even for Los Angelenos. Thus we have our Manny Dilemma. Do we sign him to a ridiculously expensive contract for 3-4 years and hope he doesn't tire of us, his teammates, his manager, his GM, his owner and the town? Or do we let him go, understanding that he was a shooting star in our sky that we appreciated while we saw it but knew was visible for mere moments? The sports writers and talk show hosts are evenly divided on the subject and we haven't heard anything from the Dodgers brass or ownership that would help us divine whether or not the $30 we spent on #99 tee shirts was a summer of '08 folly. I vote no to more than 2 years and even with that, if he wanted more but settled for less the remorse might just set in the very first year. We like Manny being THIS Manny and the question is what Manny we'll get if this torrid love affair turns into a marriage.

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Being 1-2 in my fantasy league is a humbling experience

Updated Tuesday 09/23/2008

I have been fantasy royalty for a long time. Each year I have played on my own (one year of learning with the fantasy guru in my life who insisted he play with me and make all final decisions....oy)I have reached the Super Bowl in my league and one year I won the league championship. I have consistently played at Yahoo in both custom leagues and default rules' leagues.

I decided to switch it up this year and I'm starting to wonder if that old chestnut from baseball is true: you never mess with a streak. An old and dear friend of mine has been asking me to play with him in a custom league that is supported by CBS Sportsline. It was a league of men who are serious about the world of fantasy and the commissioner personally called me to ask that I join. He had done that before but I had two issues to overcome to agree the first time he asked : 1) I was already committed to a league that included the members of Sports Journey Radio, the show I appeared on, and 2) I didn't like the rules from my friend's league.

I do believe in drafting as well as I can but you and I know that your draft position can make a big difference as well as injuries once the season begins. Thus I am an active transaction girl and add/drop like mad. I'm not a big fan of trades unless I don't have to get into a long negotiation with someone that makes me feel like I'm at a car dealership.

The rules were changed in my friend's league last year to allow for unlimited add/drops and this year, without a radio show league on the horizon, I decided to try and leave the comfort of Yahoo. This new league at CBS has more opportunities to score points since catches merit a point and special teams are included as a position in the lineup. I had a fun draft experience and with the 3rd pick I took Tom Brady. I knew he wouldn't have the same kind of year as 2007 but a solid 35 touchdowns would have suited me just fine.

You already know the beginning of my horror since it isn't a state secret that Brady is out for the year. Did I mention that the guys in this new league are competitive and serious about it all? I didn't pay that much attention during the draft to the fact that every one of these people took a back up QB for their roster. I did too but it was a yawn for me with Brady as my mainstay so I chose Mark Bulger..... Ok then, out of business in week one. Try and draft another QB after 20 are already taken and find someone half-way decent. I dropped Brady and picked up Chad Pennington for the second game. Well that was a bust and I was 0-2 because after Brady went down so did Dallas Clark and Justin Fargas. Week three dawned with me taking JT O'Sullivan of the 49'ers and Pierre Thomas of New Orleans. I won this week but not by much and it took me this long to remember that WR's in this league can be more lucrative than RB's due to the point per catch rule. I have never gone with 3 WR's and 1 RB but I got the hang of it.

Let's see if I can dig myself out of this hole and start to pick up the hot hands for the next 10 weeks to make the playoffs. Pray for me, will you?

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Paul Azinger overhauls the Ryder Cup process and wins

Updated Monday 09/22/2008

The Ryder Cup has returned to our shores for a two year stay until the next week long extravaganza decides whether America or Europe will welcome the Cup in 2010. America had been humiliated and beaten badly by the Euros the last three times the Cup was contested. We were beginning to look like paper Tigers......I am not punning here, I really mean it. Tiger Woods provided absolutely nothing to the Ryder Cup teams he played with and in fact I believe his presence was a detriment to the team.

First of all, the captain always had to worry about who would be paired with Woods and not just because it is the captain's job to try and find a twosome that plays well together and get along. Tiger doesn't play well with others and goes into his own zone of silence and concentration on the course. So yakking it up in a chummy, team atmosphere isn't his cup of tea. Secondly, the format of playing alternate shots, as the players do the first two days of the event is not meant for an artist like Mr. Woods. Asking him to hit a ball that didn't get there by him putting it there is beyond his comprehension. Thus, his losing record is not a surprise.

Along comes Paul Azinger and he gets the gift of not having to deal with the Tiger crap since the great one is recovering from major knee surgery. He was able to shake up the selection process for the team allowing him 4 picks of his own over and above the top money winners on the PGA Tour. He also pulled a Coach K on the golfers. He made them bond and had a theory about how to win that was easily understood and able to be executed without the guys being anything but themselves. Because he had rookies earn their way onto the Cup team he wasn't afraid to add more newbies for a total of 6 out of 12. Doom and gloom were predicted and the sharks were circling for a kill if Zinger's theories didn't prove out.

Ah, but they did. Fearless and with nothing to lose, the rookies dominated the scene to the extent that the best three Euro golfers were beaten in the singles matches yesterday by guys that had never seen a Ryder Cup before never mind played for one. Congrats to Paul Azinger, a man with a plan and the stones to get it approved. I hope the PGA doesn't think that he is a one and done captain. Bring him back will you please?

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Chris Cooley's private parts

Updated Wednesday 09/17/2008

Washington Redskins star tight end, Chris Cooley recently got a bit more exposure than is normal for an NFL player. Cooley has a popular blog and while posting an article about what a player has to study to learn the infamous team play book, he took a photo of a couple of pages in the spiral bound notebook as it sat in his lap. But oops, he was naked at the time and the camera angle got a bit more than the pages of the book. There was Mr. Happy saying hello to the world.

The photo stayed up til the next day because Cooley was playing a football game that day and supposedly didn't realize he had posted a photo of his penis. Here are a couple of things that are wrong with what he did: EVERYTHING and EVERYTHING. Many writers who covered the incident sounded incredulous that anyone blogs in the nude. I don't know what the hell that has to do with anything. If you're in your home, your home-office or your hotel room and want to cast your clothes to the wind that's fine with me. It's also OK if you want to speak on the phone, watch TV, listen to music or use the computer in that state. But forgetting you are in a state of nudity as you snap a photo of yourself is preposterous. Cooley said he didn't check the photo very well, uh, yeah, and of course he apologized.

Only a few enterprising bloggers were able to snag the photo and put it up on their own sites for public viewing. I'd like to say right now that I can understand how Cooley didn't see the image of his own penis. Before you presume I mean that it's too small to notice, I want to say that the shading in the photo is dark and frankly unless you are studying it, the white notebook pages pull your eyes away from anything else. But, now that I've mentioned it, the penis is a bit small for a man of that size. Although to be fair, he was sitting down and not aroused...you know, like the George Costanza line when he got out of a pool and a beautiful woman catches him naked: "I was in the pool!".

But you must go to Cooley's site anyway and look at the messages he received in response to his clear apology in which he uses the word, "penis". There was a guy who told him that was all too much information. As if the photo wasn't?

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O. J Trial in Vegas becomes litmus test on race

Updated Friday 09/12/2008

Last autumn I was interviewed on TV about O.J. Simpson's latest brush with the criminal justice system and was asked how sports fans felt about it all. I bluntly said that it was a non-issue for big time fans since Simpson hadn't been relevant as a former football player after the murder trial 13 years ago.

And that is true to this day, however, he made his fame and fortune (not much left of that ) as a football player, a commercial endorser and a sports broadcaster. But after his acquittal and the bizarre behavior he exhibited during that time and after he just became famous for being famous, sort of like the former pop star Michael Jackson. But here we are at another criminal court and another jury trial for O.J.

The charges are armed robbery, kidnapping and assault. He could be put away for the rest of his life if convicted and sentenced on each of the 12 counts against him. He has one co-defendant although there were a total of 6 men arrested who participated in the aborted attempt to retrieve memorabilia that supposedly belonged to Simpson. The attempt included use of a firearm to threaten the dealers as well as the doors being blocked to be certain that no one O.J. was accusing of theft could get out.

Members of this gang of idiots who pled guilty to avoid doing time will testify against the Juice and an audio tape will be introduced into evidence that was recorded by one of the dealers in the room when the group burst in the door. But what is the fuss about the jury mean? Simpson's lawyers believe that an all white jury cannot and will not be fair to their client. That isn't just an opinion, that is an indictment of the legal system that goes to the core of how we have trusted that system for more than 200 years. If you believe that jurors will perjure themselves by being unable to play fair after they put their hand on a bible and swore they could then what's the point of having a jury trial at all? Well for Simpson's team the purpose is to avoid pleading guilty and hope against hope that people will be persuaded that O.J. isn't guilty of this particular crime no matter what you believe about his guilt from the murder trial.

If white potential jurors are believed to be biased and the Simpson team thinks that black potential jurors wouldn't have that same bias, doesn't that mean that they have a different bias? Isn't that what the defense is saying? If so, what are we left with to judge fellow citizens on the facts that are laid out in front of us? I know that as a lawyer I might have more concern about this issue but if you ever get picked up and put into the position of having to defend yourself from charges you believe are false, I wonder if you won't think back to my concern and nod your head.

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Vince Young's story

Updated Thursday 09/11/2008

Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle wrote the best story about the distinct difference between the collegian named Vince Young and the guy who currently works for the Tennessee Titans. The latter version of Young is in trouble of some sort. There can be no disagreement on that point no matter what you think he should do about it or whether or not you think he SHOULDN'T feel bad at all. Ask yourselves about the last time you felt bad about something that happened to you and after sharing it with a friend, that person wondered aloud to you how you could feel the way you did. Didn't it seem a bit jarring to you that your pal couldn't understand? Of course it did. The word "shouldn't" has no place in a discussion about a person's emotional life. The most crass example of that approach to mental travail is the famous press conference statement by Terrell Owens' former publicist who denied TO had tried to kill himself. Remember that? "Terrell has 25 million reasons" not to want to kill himself. Oy.

Those of us who aren't millionaires think that the release from worrying about money allows all other problems in life to disappear or at least not take a toll to the extent that someone gets depressed. How can you be depressed when you can buy your way out of the problem? Easy. There's only so long you can buy yourself something fine or go on a vacation to an exotic local or overspend on your loved ones and see the happy faces in front of you. Because when that is over the problem is still there.

We should be talking about coping skills here not denial of real life problems that everyone experiences whether rich or poor. That's where Justice's article hits a nerve for me. He recounts times at the University of Texas when things weren't going so well for Young and he muscled up, buckled down and worked through it all. He had a coach, Mack Brown that could spend enough time with him to make sure he was doing OK. He was a campus icon for his toughness and leadership skills. As Justice points out, the NFL doesn't work that way. You lose games every year, unless you are the 1972 Miami Dolphins. So if your coping mechanism is to make the demons go away by strutting your stuff and vanquishing doubt with success and you can't do that at the pro level what do you have? You've got depression, anxiety and confusion.

Young's mother knows how the game is played. She knew enough not to screw with her son's image and career prior to him getting drafted for fear that she'd muck it up. The fact that she is out front on talking about her son's problems means that there is something there. What I would submit is that he lacks coping skills. How you find those varies from person to person. But he needs a mentor he's willing to believe in and trust. I nominate Donovan McNabb, a man who has spoken out about unique pressures on black quarterbacks. With the season he looks like he'll have he can prove to Young that he can rise again. Let's hope so.

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NFL Week 1 is a horror for owners of the injured

Updated Tuesday 09/09/2008

Did you ever see an event that you were powerless to stop and knew instantly it was going to be a whole heap of trouble? That was me on Sunday in the mid-morning here in So. Cal when Tom Brady left the game with an injured knee. I had never drafted as high as I did in this fantasy draft and snagged the handsome one for my team. I was lucky enough to get Dallas Clare for my tight end spot and used a bit of faith in taking Darren McFadden of the Raiders as a sleeper pick. Oh it was a sleeper all right. McFadden didn't get enough carries to be dangerous and one of the reasons is that he left the game with an injury. Did I mention that Dallas Clark left his game with the Bears with an injury? No, well I just did. 3 starters on my team are toast although I'm keeping McFadden on the bench since it appears that he isn't badly hurt.

But they weren't the only starters and platoon players that went down in Week 1. Among the QB's: Vince Young and Brodie Croyle as well as Brady. Among the RB's: LT.....I know how his owner feels as well as Joseph Addai, Darren McFadden and Marion Barber. And then there are the WR's including a season ending injury to Nate Burleson after he appeared to be a winner for Seattle and last but not least, Donte Stallworth of Cleveland. Burleson and Brady are already gone for the year and it remains to be seen as the week goes on how much time the others will miss. Young's injury seems the worst but then again, who the hell knows.

I think we don't get close enough to the fleeting nature of the NFL until we are faced with the kind of injury list we received today. It's no wonder athletes hold out and lose time and current money to grab the guarantees. Without it they are out on the street pretty quick if their career are threatened by going down the depth chart, getting cut or just never resigned the next season.

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Women's golf takes its beating and gives up

Updated Friday 09/05/2008

Neil Young sang: It's better to burn out than fade away. The LPGA might have just done both. The uproar from the public and media about the tour's intention to punish players who couldn't speak English with sponsors and during media appearances culminated in the association waving the white flag. It was a bold move to make in the first place and they get points for trying but the use of possible suspensions as punishment just made the rule too harsh. Thus they meekly faded away.

But the LPGA has more than a mere point to make; it has a tour to save. Commissioner Bivens only belatedly issued a statement in the middle of this maelstrom that unlike the PGA, the LPGA doesn't have TV and radio rights contracts to fund its operation. Sponsor dollars sustain the tournaments and specifically the money spent to play with the pros from Monday-Wednesday prior to the players going to work on Thursday. Bivens told Christine Brennan of USA Today that tournament directors had complained to her and her staff. That resulted from getting earfuls from sponsors who pay up to 5 figures a round to play with the pros. If they can't converse during 18 holes of play or get golf tips from the women, they don't see the point of spending that kind of dough. Do you?

This is a growing problem with up to a third of LPGA players coming from Asia and elsewhere around the map. It's no wonder that the Asian Pacific Legal Center was ready to hold a news conference today at which they were announcing the intention to seek a legal opinion in the hope that a class action suit would result. They really meant business. When they got support and assistance from political figures you knew that the LPGA was going to have to give up. They did.

But taking offense at the possible suspensions is one thing; denying this is a problem is another. Sponsors are now afraid to be politically incorrect about their problems and the LPGA might just have to work individually with players and their agents to get them together with sponsors to hear of their woes. I wonder what language will be spoken?

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Nadal's annoying habits

Updated Thursday 09/04/2008

I don't know about you but I am sick and tired of watching Rafael Nadal pick his pants out from between his rear end crease each time he gets set to receive serve. I used to relish watching Nadal run around the court, hit powerful serves and ground strokes as well as give those lay on the ground celebrations after he won. No more.

Once you have seen that reflexive action he takes every freaking time he sets up behind the baseline you can't NOT see it. And that's unfortunate since there is so much good stuff to take in about that young man's face and body. He is a walking bill board for Nike brand tennis gear and yet the pants that have replaced the old capri pants that hung a bit looser on him are driving him crazy. Or maybe not. Maybe it's just one of those habits that a person isn't conscious of.

All I know is that with his design team he should be able to make this a non-issue so that we can enjoy the tennis. He is incredible to watch. His power, speed and fitness on display for all the world to see. Last night's match, however, was also a display of everything that is wrong with the U.S. Open of tennis. To maximize the revenue the USTA allowed night matches a long time ago. But they began on time at 7 pm EDT. They didn't schedule day matches on the same court as the ones that housed the night matches which they knew would run long. How do you ever know you might ask? Well, a woman's match ends earlier than a man's match 90-95% of the time. The last match of the day session on the center court used at night should be a woman's match that the USTA knows will end on time. Or the other way to handle it is to move the last match of the day on center court.....off center court to the other stadium so that the night match begins at 7.

Just to prove that nothing is ever enough, the USTA now schedules two night matches back to back on center court. In the good old days when matches started on time, there would be one on the smaller "grandstand" court. But with what they charge for tickets now, night customers expect two big time contests for the price. Thus you get what happened last night: the premiere men's match started at almost 11:30 pm. It mercifully ended at 2:30 but come on now....give us all a break.

No wonder Nadal has picked up that disgusting habit.

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Killer Kowalski dies and takes the claw hold with him

Updated Wednesday 09/03/2008

Before Triple H and Shawn Michaels there was The Killer and his pals, Bruno Sammartino, Gorilla Monsoon and the Golden Boy, Arnold Skaaland. The early pioneers of pro wrestling fought in the days prior to us knowing about steroid use or expecting to see elaborate costumes and ring girls. They were popular then and now reside in the WWE's Hall of Fame. Many like Kowalski went on to teach some of the next generation of great stars.

My grandparents were big fans of the stars of that era and it had a lot to do with their ethnic make up. My family was Italian and my grandparents loved to see the great Bruno Sammartino rip into the other guys. They never told me that it was a show and not really a competition like I was used to seeing when I tuned into major team sports. But somehow I knew. Maybe it was because there were never any visible scars or injuries and the guys would rise as if from the dead and beat the snot out of the ones that just pummeled them.

I loved that stuff. It's no wonder that kids gravitate to the spectacle of the good guy/bad guy routines, the over the top acting and the spectacle of it all. When my niece and nephew were growing up a pay for view event featuring Hulk Hogan was a regular on my cable bill. I made popcorn for the occasion as my brother and his wife got a break for an evening, knowing the kids were occupied. But in the old days, the guys of Kowalski's era made no big sums of money. They had to stay in the profession long past their primes and if you don't believe me, check out a youtube.com video of Kowalski vs. Sammartino in a ten minute clip of a fight that lasted way longer than that. In fact Kowalski is heard on the intro telling the announcer that some of his matches lasted an hour. An hour? The entire Monday Night Raw experience is over by that time and we've seen a string of matches and challenges.

Kowalski got his nickname when an injury actually occurred and not by design. He was fighting some old hanger-on type who had a cauliflower ear. The ear split off in the ring as blood spurted from the wound. No way to cosmetize that. Kowalski spent his post-ring days teaching and coaching guys who wanted to follow in his footsteps. He did a good job and his school located not too far from Boston is a place that fans and students gathered at up until his recent death. RIP Walter, Killer, Kowalski.

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August 2008

Steve Smith gets 2 game suspension for smash mouth football

Updated Monday 08/04/2008

Steve Smith is a little guy in a world filled with tall men who are increasingly filling roster spots at his position. It's too easy to say he's got a Napoleon complex but without that your mind strays to roid rage or the fact that he's just an edgy and pugnacious man. In a practice last week, he apparently got into a fist fight with a teammate, cornerback Ken Lucas. Other members of the team not only had to break it up but a linebacker was necessary to hold back the raging Smith. When the dust settled, Lucas had an ice pack applied to his face and used a cart to get off the field. He had a broken nose and was unable to practice as he remains on the sidelines. Smith was sent home after the incident as head coach John Fox looked none too pleased while telling assembled media that it would be handled in-house. Smith has been suspended by the team for the first two games in the season but remains able to practice with the team in the meantime.

The team is trying like hell to get back into playoff contention after 2 lackluster years; their QB is healthy after surgery and Steve Smith was hoping for a better time of it so that his talent can shine....the way he likes it. He is their best weapon for a big play and like most talented WR's is a diva extraordinaire. But this fight was not the kind that results from rough play during practice. This happened without helmets on....a big no-no. No one is surprised that there was an altercation during training camp. These are guys forced to live with each other for a month and not at 5 star hotels with room service. It is hot as hell no matter where a team practices on the East Coast and tempers flare with the contact. But from all reports this was a verbal fight that suddenly became physical on the part of Smith. No one is using the phrase, sucker punch but that is the essence of it. How can you tell? Well, Lucas returned to practice and got an ovation from the team.

Smith, already known for his temper that leads to physically inappropriate behavior, is contrite. Whether or not that works for the team remains to be seen. The guy is the vocal leader and the energy that drives the offense to achieve. Leadership doesn't lend itself to this kind of stuff and for a guy that expected this to be another stellar year it's not looking like an auspicious beginning. The NFL can still add on to the team's punishment of Smith and might just do that. It was only 5 or 6 seasons ago that Smith blew up in a film session and beat up on another teammate. He was sent to anger management and has been well behaved til this point. As a veteran who doesn't have that much time to make himself the legend he already thinks he is, Smith would be well served to just let his talking be done with his football play. You've heard me write this more than once: winning cures everything.

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The morning-after Manny headache

Updated Saturday 08/02/2008

Well it was quite a circus here on Thursday what with the big Manny for virtually nothing trade made by the Dodgers. Hope and excitement were in the air. It wasn't as big as the fuss made about Shaq or Gretzky's arrival (although Manny wears The Great One's #99 at least for one day) since we don't know how long he will be around past season's end. But it was typical Hollywood and the Dodgers have probably already made money on the deal. The actual cost of getting Manny was to pay a $1,000,000 trade bonus the guy had in his agreement. Just that fact makes you understand why we hate these guys when they don't want to work hard for ticket holders who ultimately pay a portion of their salaries. What does the million dollars cover exactly? Moving expenses? Buy out clauses on leases that have to be broken? Jewelry for the lady in their lives so she doesn't bitch and moan as much about him going somewhere else?

Leaving that aside, the team sold out all remaining tickets for this weekend's big series with Arizona and hundreds of seat packages for the remainder of the season plus jerseys and tee shirts that instantly appeared for sale on Friday. Most of the day for Ramirez was spent on media appearances, posing for TV promos played during the game, choosing a uniform and of course matching sunglasses for the occasion. Red won't do any longer, they must be blue. His appearance in front of the press was 13 minutes of halting phrases about being somewhat nervous in a new ball park and new city as well as a deflection of all conversation about the Red Sox other than to tell everyone that chapter is closed. He did give a shout out to the fans in Boston. He agreed with Joe Torre that he'd have to cut those locks since Joe has this thing about floppy hair that covers the numbers on the uniform shirt. I was impressed that the superstar exceptions weren't applying already.

But let's get to the meat of the situation: he wiped out the potential tying run by hitting into a double play in the bottom of the ninth. He did go 2-4 and those hits including his first plate appearance of a ground out to short were greeted by cheers. Hey, it's a honeymoon isn't it? But for me, the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach was when he and Andruw Jones (why was he in the game exactly?) couldn't cut off a long double, made into a triple, as they ran towards the ball as if they were trying to avoid breaking a sweat. If Manny can wipe out the runs he'll cost us because of his lollygagging by hitting like he did in Boston I guess I can live with it for a bit. If he can't, then this is nothing more than another blockbuster summer movie that disappoints.

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July 2008

Artest is NOT a bipolar knucklehead....according to him

Updated Thursday 07/31/2008

There was a smiling, pleasant and suited up with a tie, Ron Artest on PTI today trying to stem the bleeding from his gut reaction to Yao Ming. He was shocked, shocked I tell you that Yao when asked about the trade that is sending Artest to Houston mentioned his concern about whether the bad Ron was still alive. Yao said the words, "went into the stands" in referring to Artest's melee in Detroit that kept him out of the league for a hell of a long time. Artest took offense that those words are still attached to people's impression of him and let the world know it. He "went into the stands" verbally and told off Yao by saying that there is a cultural reason for his behavior. Oh yeah, you didn't know that there is a culture in which when you are a millionaire and a famous personality and someone throws a cup of beer on you, it means that you leave the basketball court to beat up the paying customers?

As Artest said, he's "still ghetto" and wanted to warn Yao and the rest of us about that. He didn't rule out the possibility that it would happen again with the same provocation becuase, well it's a cultural thing. The immediate outcry in the press, including me, had some effect on his agent who got Ron a TV spot on ESPN that very afternoon to try and clean up the mess. There he was, in a coat and tie with an eery smile that reminded me of someone biting the inside of his cheeks to keep from saying what he really wanted to. He actually used the words of the title to this piece in making sure that the hosts got his point. Ah, yeah, we get it Ron. He also proudly announced that he had called Tracy McGrady to make sure Tracy was all good with it and then got Yao's phone number from him. Apparently there was a phone call, despite the time difference between California and China and Yao was told that something must have been lost in the translation. Ok then.

All summer long, the Artest apologists were claiming that Artest is a pussy cat, cleaned up his act, is not a ticking bomb and besides, his basketball acumen can make up for any relapses that might ensue. I guess Yao didn't get the message. Thank God the Lakers decided to pass on shipping out Lamar Odom for the non-bipolar Artest. Who needs another nut case in LA...oh, I'm sorry, I forgot that Kobe doesn't like that either.

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