It might be just me, but I think that…
“Joe Every-Fan”
Bart Giamatti was the president of Yale University when he resigned to become the Commissioner of MLB in 1988. He passed away, from a heart attack, after less than a year on the job. His dream job had become a nightmare filled with all of the Pete Rose gambling issues. Even though he really was an educated high-brow, he never put on airs and was more like the guy sitting next to you on the stoop talking about his love, baseball. He wrote an article for the Yale Alumni magazine 12 years earlier that mirrored his feelings. He wrote: “(Baseball) breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as the chilling rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone.” Can you believe that Bill Clinton and Bart Giamatti both walked on the same Yale campus?
Be Careful For What You Wish
MLB has been changing rules about playoff eligibilities in an effort to create parity and keep the Yankees away from post-season play.. So let’s see how the TV ratings are (they directly affect advertising revenues) and who they blame for dismal showings.
Update
Thomas Bonk gave a zinger in the LA Times to MLB when he said: “MLB’s $65-million ad campaign to publicize the playoffs is called ‘There’s Only One October.’ That’s the best they can do? Like there’s two Septembers or something?
Ozzie’s Wisdom
ChiSox manager Ozzie Guillen said to the Chicago Daily Herald: “We create babies in the minor leagues and in the big leagues. They need to fail in the minor league, how to handle it. But teams won’t let their top prospects fail, so they get to the big leagues and fail and don’t know what to do with themselves.”
Dirty Play?
When I first saw that play at the end of the Giants-Redskins game, I thought that play by DC-OLT Chris Samuels was a dirty play. But, now I think that the take-down was the only thing that was intentional and that was done to keep Campbell, his QB, from getting killed. The other stuff was accidental. The O-line for the Giants would have done the same thing to protect Eli.
Giants-Jets Week 2
My Giants were 2-0 having beaten the 1-1 Redskins and beating the 0-2 Rams 41-13. While John’s Jets were 1-1 against the 0-2 Dolphins and the Brady-less Patriots (they lost 19-10). It was the QB’s play that governed the results. Eli Manning was 20-29, 260 yards, 0 INT, sacked twice for 19 yards. Brett Favre was 18-26, 181 yard, 1 INT, sacked twice for 29 yards.
The Jets afternoon hinged on two series of play. The 2nd Quarter saw the Jets with a first-and- goal from the three but couldn’t punch it in for the TD and settled for a FG. In the 3rd quarter a Favre INT set up NE’s only TD
For the “Gints”, it was a left-handed flick pass to Brandon Jacobs that resulted in a two-yard gain instead of a sack and the FG, that was made, gave the Giants a 13-6 lead going into halftime. Rushing Jets 21-104yds. Giants 31-200 Rushing D Jets 33-104 “16-68
Value Not Added
Dan Daly said something with which I agree. “There may not be a worse value in sports than a ticket to an NFL exhibition game.” Worry-wart owners and coaches play their regulars less and less or not at all (they can be seen in street clothes not even holding a clipboard). This is why there are thoughts of adding one or two games to the regular season and reducing exhibitions by the same number. This seems more appealing- at least from my vantage point from my rocket recliner.
Another point- if they increase the number of games, then they should increase the rosters from 53 to, say, 60. Increased games will increase injuries and the league should allow players to be reactivated from the IR. The non-activation rule was started to stop teams from hiding talented players. But with today’s free agency, that’s no longer an issue.
Rock Solid Belief
Wilbon told me that Chris Rock was lamenting about the lack of black leaders and said: “We need a black leader. You know who I think the black leader should be?
“Pat Riley.
“He may not get us to the mountain top, but he’ll get us to the playoffs.”
More
Translation Losses
Robert Green the editor of Golf International pointed out that 33% of the LPGA members are from Korea and Korean TV is the LPGA’s largest source of income. So, being so snooty as requiring all LPGA members to speak English is a little like saying, “I like the sound of your money but not the sound of your language.”
Well the LPGA smartened-up, they faced a backlash from lawmakers and bewilderment from sponsors. The LPGA backed off plans to suspend players who couldn’t speak coherent English.
Dress Code
Norman Chad wrote in the DC Post that the last LPGA commissioner wanted its members to dress sexier. The current commissioner wants the members to be able to speak 8th grade English. “Why not kill two birds with one stone and hire Las Vegas cocktail waitresses?
“What if the NBA had this rule,” Chad asked? “Ninety percent of the leagues rosters would be filled with Duke grads, the other ten percent would foul out committing charges.
The LPGA started a program in 2006 to help international players learn English and immerse themselves in American culture. Many US cities have operated a similar program for years- it’s called McDonald’s.
“Back in the day, you could jump into a cab and tell the driver to take you to 89th and Amsterdam on the double and the driver would floor it and get you there in a flash. Nowadays, if you ask the driver to take you to 89th and Amsterdam on the double, the driver will turn around and say ‘where you go?’”
Tennis Anyone?
Bernie Lincicome wrote in the Rocky Mountain News that an international tennis promoter took a man-on-the-street survey of 100 passers-by about why no one follows their sport anymore. They found:17 said too many Europeans, 12 said too many –ers (as in Federer), and 81 said “Tennis, what’s that?”
Again, maybe it’s just me—but….
