Pipe Dreams

Maybe it's just me, but…

GAS TAX

If Congress MADE “Big Oil” roll back the gasoline prices, by $2.50/gal., which allowed them to reap record profits, then Congress wouldn’t have to legislate a suspension of the taxes on gasoline (which isn’t a bad idea anyway) because the taxes would shrink naturally. But, there are two chances of that happening and one of them is slim because too many of those politicians receive “campaign contributions” from “Big Oil”.

NOT MUCH HAS CHANGED

Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier for MLB in 1947 but it seems that not much has changed in certain places. His 1962 plaque in Cooperstown makes no mention of that social achievement but it DOES laud his athletic achievements. I have to admit that when I was younger, Robinson wasn’t liked very much in my household. But, it WASN’T due to the color of his skin. It WAS because he was a game-changing player for the Brooklyn Dodgers. It seems that a lot of the noise makers talking about Robinson’s plaque aren’t able to see past his skin color and appreciate the true make-up of the MAN.

DERBY DAY

The Kentucky Derby has been one of the only horse races that I stop to watch every year. I watch it but don’t bet on it. Well, that’s not entirely true. If the family visits on that first Saturday in May, the grand daughters are playing Barbie, playing video games, or listening to their music through their headphones (thank goodness). Somewhere along the line a bowl appears with scraps of paper having the names of horses on them. We all take turns picking out a name for a buck a name and wait for the race to start. We always know when that is because my sainted wife (she has to be a saint to put up with my nonsense all of these years) always picks that moment to tell us to come to the table for dinner.

I can’t tell you any of the horse’s names, who the riders are, or even what station  broadcasted the race. AND, I don’t think I’m alone there. The race just doesn’t seem as important anymore. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older. Maybe there’s a lot more going on. Or maybe there just isn’t as much pre-race hype because all the ad-people are having post-NFL-Draft-Spending-Hangovers. Bob Molinaro said the race has failing relevancy. Many younger people would rather sit in front of the TV and WATCH other people play poker. There hasn’t been a “Triple Crown Winner” since 1978. There hasn’t been a Nashua, a  Swaps, a Sea Biscuit, a Native Dancer, a Dasher, Prancer, or Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, or Blitzen. I do know, however, that if Secretariat were in this year’s Kentucky Derby, he would have won by 17 lengths based on the time that Big Brown ran winning the race.

SHIPPED OUT

When Ian Kennedy was returned to triple-A he said, “I feel I was making progress.” But hey- do you know what? The Big Leagues are not the place that you TRY to make progress. You’re supposed to be able to do the job when you get here. If you want the “big bucks,” you HAVE to be able to do a big job.

HA! WHAT A NOVEL IDEA

Arizona D’Back OF Eric Byrnes said on FSN’s “Best Damn Sports Show Period,” “I’ve never understood how people say ‘Oh, It’s a contract year’ and the guys go out there and are playing harder in that year. If anything, I felt more pressure to produce after the deal because I wanted to prove my worth.”

AUTOGRAPHS

Hank Aaron told Greg Cote, after someone paid $24,150, at an auction, for a letter that he wrote in 1951, “I’m thinking that unless the letter came in an envelope stuffed with about $24,000 cash, somebody overpaid.”

JAKE LONG

The Miami Dolphins announced that OT Jake Long was already signed as the number-one pick in the 2008 draft. He’s a HUGE (6-7, 315-lbs.) building block in the Parcells re-building plan. Can you say Jumbo Elliott (6-7 305-lbs.)?

RATING THE DRAFT

Not every year is like the year the Giants drafters had last year, but this year’s first day might (that’s a very big word because we all know that it might take a year or three for choices to mature) rival it. The Giants were able to get, both, Phillips AND Johnson as DB’s. The Jets tapped Gholston at 6 and traded up to 30 to pick TE Dusten Keller from Perdue to protect against losing Chris Baker. I’d give both teams a “B-” for day-one.

BOOT UP

Frank Deford took a look  at all of the Olympic protests and wrote: “There is something wonderfully ironic about the Olympic Torch which is making its journey around the world with what appears to be a big KICK ME sign on it for China.

Ah, what goes around—-

And to tell you the truth, I think the Olympics are yesterday’s party. And while we Americans may not understand this, Soccer’s World Cup has become much more important to many people world wide.”

THE ROGGE RAG

One of IOC President Jacques Rogge’s latest pronouncements used words like “crisis,” “disarray,” “greater media freedom,” “moral engagement to improve Human Rights.” All of these problems WERE present when Beijing was awarded the 2008 Olympic Games back in 2001; just as the Nazi’s were in power when they hosted the 1936 games

THEY UPPED AND CALLED ME SPEEDO

David Thomas wrote in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the latest Speedo ultra-fast LZR swim suits “are not exactly the kind you see in Sports Illustrated. Fortunately, they are also nothing like the Speedo you wish your Uncle Louis would quit wearing to the city pool.”

CHAD’S-WORTH

Norman Chad said it: “I’ve got 150 channels, so why is it every time I turn on the tube all I can find is ‘Law & Order’ and ‘SportsCenter.’”

TENNIS REPORT

This is from one of our group: The headline reads: “Kournikova Ovah Sharapova.”

Again, maybe it’s just me—but….

Pipe Dreams, Bob Connolly, Yankees, Tennis, Olympics, Gas, Derby, Horse racing, NFL Draft