July 13, 2008

I’m back . . . . it was an absolutely crazy month at work which sucked the free-thinking creative juices out of me. While I took a pause, the world of sports was continuing at a fast pace. It’s Major League Baseball’s All-Star Break, so it’s a good time to look back at the first half of the season. Since I live in Arizona and have to listen to the front-running sports radio hosts, I want to discuss the Diamondcracks.

REALLY – The absolutely worst thing to do was sign Eric “I’d Rather Work Hard at my Reality Show” Byrnes to a long term deal. Did anybody notice that Carlos Quentin is an AL All-Star and a potential MVP candidate – REALLY!!! Now – with Byrnes out the season and top-50 MLB prospect Carlos Gonzalez patrolling center field in Oakland, the D’Cracks have an empty corner outfield spot.
There have been rumors of Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, Ken Griffey Jr, and Raul Ibanez coming to patrol LF – those guys are nice but they would come at another significant hit to the farm system. The farm system cannot take another hit like it did when Byrnes sent 6 top prospects to Oakland for Dan Haren – REALLY!!
However, there is somebody who could play everyday, provide some pop, and give out some veteran leadership and playoff experience – Juan Rivera, OF, Los Angeles Angels. He has played with the Yankees and the Angels – two organizations built around winning. When playing full-time, he is a consistent .280 hitter with 20 HRs and an above average OBP. He is buried on the bench in Los Angeles behind Guerrero, Hunter, Anderson, and Matthews, so he should come pretty cheaply. That’s part 1.

SERIOUSLY – The D’Backs need to wake up because they have a pitching problem- they no longer can say they are the only team with two true #1 aces who keep them in each and every game them pitch. Milwaukee boasts Ben Sheets and CC (Not C.C.) Sabathia. The Cubs have Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden. AND – the Mets are looking for an ace to pair with Johan Santana and the Phillies are shopping for somebody to join Cole Hamels.
So Phoenix fans, what needs to be done? Lets realize that Micah Owings, Doug Davis, and Randy Johnson are nothing more than three #4-5 starters – SERIOUSLY! These pitchers are .500 – which for most teams are good, but on poor offensive teams, it’s not good. Owings is young, Davis walks too many, and Randy is just too old – those factors lead to the team being out of half the games due to poor starting pitching. They need to get an above average starter who can keep them in 2/3 of the games started.

C’MON – How many strikeouts will the Diamondback offense finish with this season?? They are young players who haven’t had time to fully develop pitch recognition in the minor leagues, but C’MON – how many K’s will they get?

With all the whiffs coming from Phoenix, it’s surprising there isn’t more wind!!

Did you hear the Diamondbacks are providing rebates for season ticket holders – they don’t have to crank down the air conditioning with all the swings and misses from DBack hitters acting as a fan.

The Diamondbacks strikeout so much that after last night’s victory, they had to go to Van Buren to get some ho’s.

June 18, 2008

REALLY – Can any city in this wonderful country step up and stop Boston? I mean, REALLY, is there anything more annoying than a Boston sports fan when their teams are winning? Boston fans get louder and louder. . . . not just that, have you ever noticed that as the season goes on and a Boston team is in first, that Boston accent gets more pronounced. I mean, REALLY, use that accent all the time or just let it go!! Just in case you missed it, the Celtics destroyed the Lakers for their first NBA title in 22 years. The Patriots are coming off an undefeated regular season and a Super Bowl loss because some Giants scrub made the catch of a lifetime. The Red Sox are the defending World Series Champions, and they are currently 5 games a head of the Yankees. Thats just sick, REALLY. Let me end with how annoying Boston fans are . . . in the middle of Game 6, I sent a text to one of my closest friends who is a die hard Boston Everything fan living in LA. I said, “You must not be popular right now”. His reply, “Even I am starting to hate me.”

SERIOUSY - Lets go further on this NFL players holding out for more money – just because it bugs the hell out of me. At the start of every season, we hear about players holding out because they want to renegotiate for more money. This season the list includes Chad Johnson, Darnell Dockett, Anquan Bolden, Brian Urlacher, Chris Baker . . . . . I think I have clearly stated my point that they are selfish people who need to get back to work and honor their contract since the teams cannot give them a paycut for SERIOUSLY shitty performance. I think the simple solution would be for teams to hire a financial planner staff for their players (instead of players hiring their own) – that way, players don’t end up like the SERIOUSLY messed up Latrell Sprewell, the former four-time NBA all-star, who made $96M in the NBA. Yet Sprewell cannot pay his mortgage and he sold his yachts, SERIOUSLY. Players wouldn’t be upset about getting an extra 1M to 2M a year – their investments will make just as much as renegotiating. Note to professional athletes – you don’t have to give your agents commissions on the profits made from your own investments, SERIOUSLY.

C’MON – General managers get to fire coaches who have to deal with the players they acquire. C’MON Omar Minaya – isn’t it chicken to fire Willie Randolph in the middle of the night? Does Willie acquire the bullpen arms? C’MON, Omar, it’s not Willie’s fault that 41 year old Moises Alou would rather be on the disabled list than the field. C’MON Omar, it’s not Willie’s fault that his best player Ryan Church is out with a concussion and you replaced him with a part-time AAA ball player. This has typical scapegoat all over – especially after last season’s monumental collapse at the end of the season.

June 16, 2008

REALLY – Have we just seen everything in the Professional Golf Association, REALLY? Compliments to Tiger Woods for a remarkable weekend full of amazing shots and a gutsy Monday performance in a playoff. But, REALLY, was this a spectacular weekend for the PGA? Let me explain – So – the PGA’s best golfer, Tiger Woods had knee surgery six weeks, the knee from which he gets all his power. He doesn’t play a single round of competitive golf in six weeks, and he comes out and wins the US Open. We will hear about the “Tiger Focus”, the “TIger Will”, the “TIger Power and Inner Strength” – what isn’t being said is that the competition in the PGA is horrible, REALLY. In what other sport can the #1 player take 6 weeks off to recuperate and win one of the biggest events in that sport – absolutely none. If he took off from now until Wimbledon, Federer wouldn’t advance past the first round.

SERIOUSLY - Why would people side with NFL players who hold out? You signed a contract – so honor it, SERIOUSLY! Just because you had a great season, that doesn’t mean you get a new contract worth more money. If you had a bad season, could the team renegotiate and pay you less (thanks Deedsy!). So Urlacher, Chad Johnson, Darnell Dockett, Anquan Bolden – get your butts into the locker room, start sweating with your teammates, and stop being selfish.

C’MON – College basketball underclassmen who declare for the NBA. Over 60 of you tried to get drafted . . . . when will you learn that there are only two rounds of the NBA draft, and second round picks aren’t guarenteed, C’MON. If you are an underclassman who wants to go pro, you should be given a simple test first – the only question would be, “Have I heard about you and seen you play?” If I have not seen you play or heard about you once – then you probably are not ready for the NBA. So you guys from BYU or UAB, who do not play against top competition, C’MON, stay in school – let me see you Sportscenter, and then you can go pro.

June 11, 2008

REALLY – People are surprised that former NBA referee Tim Donaghy is writing allegations that other NBA games were fixed, REALLY? The NBA had to see this coming . . . . finally, the NBA has its own version of Jose Canseco. A guy who knows he is in trouble, a guy who is publicly despised, a guy who is desperate. While the allegations by Donaghy may be the wriggling of a guilty criminal trying to get a lighter sentence, one has to wonder if there may be some truth to it. Whatever happened to walking or palming the basketball. Why is a moving screen called in the first quarter but not the fourth? Was Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and notorious referee critic, correct when he yelled for the officials to be independent from the NBA League itself? REALLY, when is the Senator from Arizona going to form a Congressional committee to figure out if Amare Stoudamire and Boris Diaw were wrongly suspended in the 2007 playoffs? This is one story that will dog the NBA for the next year. But do not worry NBA, last year it was MLB and the Mitchell Report – sooner or later something will happen in the NFL to take the public’s mind off of Donaghy, REALLY!

SERIOUSLY – The game of baseball was the game of seasonal statistics. Everybody who follows baseball somewhat regularly knows the numbers: a .400 batting average – 61 homeruns – 2632 consecutive games played. This week Ken Griffey Jr. hit one of those magical baseball numbers of which true baseball fans SERIOUSLY should be in awe: 600 career homeruns – and Griffey was never known as a power hitter. It’s a feat shared by some of the greatest: Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays. It’s more amazing because Ken Griffey Jr has fought several serious injuries the past several years. Ken Griffey Jr is the definition of a five-tool player: hits for power, hits for average, great speed, big arm, and great defense. He always played the game the right way, and he is surely a first ballet Hall of Famer. Quite amazing!
Unfortunately, it’s also a feat shared by Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa – two players directly in the middle of the performance enhancing drug scandal. Two guys I wish were not in the same sentence with Griffey because Griffey is completely different. While there have been no positive tests for Sosa or Bonds, let me tell you this – SERIOUSLY compare the changes in body shape of Bonds and Sosa to Griffey, and tell me again who didn’t take performance enhancing drugs.

C’MON – There is no Triple Crown winner this year. Big Brown decided to take a weekend off and finished last. But C’MON horse racing, with all the talk of steroids and HGH, why isn’t there a bigger stir about the trainers of Big Brown giving him steroids once a month leading up to the Kentucky Derby? It’s one thing if a human makes his or her own decision to inject themselves with steroids, but the horse does not get to make the decision into its own steroid use. Steroids create larger muscles on bones – and something tells me that a race horses leg bones weren’t meant to have roided out leg muscles. Banish steroids from horse racing, now.

June 4, 2008

REALLY – How did the NBA General Managers, on the hottest hot seats, end up in the NBA Finals? Before this season, Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak was in deep dog shit because the best player of this generation, Kobe Bryant, wanted out of LA. Across the country, Celtics GM Danny Ainge had to deal with a team that only won 23 games in 2006/2007 – yes that’s only 29% of their games, REALLY. These two teams have combined for 30 of the NBA’s 61 championships, and they were living in a nightmare. Yet, these two GMs found a way to get their legendary organizations with previously disappointed fan bases back into the NBA Final excitement. They should share Executive of the Year, REALLY.

SERIOUSLY – Jordan Schafer, the Atlanta Braves top prospect and future centerfielder, was suspended 50 games for “violating the baseball’s substance abuse policy as it relates to HGH“. How can you be suspended for violating that policy when there isn’t a test for HGH? Certainly if Schafer was a member of the MLB Players Union, he would not be suspended without a positive test, SERIOUSLY. If you don’t believe, please reference a player named Bonds, Barry Bonds. Speculation exists that some players saved their skin by tattling on Schafer using the new anonymous tip line. A tip line, SERIOUSLY?!?! So is the use of performance enhancing drugs now being equated to poor driving of tracker trailers down the interstate?
So where does Schafer go from here? He goes right back to work on the field and plays the game. May I remind you that Schafer first attracted attention when Baseball America rated him the nation’s top 13-year-old in 2000, when he started at first base for his high school team as a seventh-grader, SERIOUSLY! He was a third round pick, 107th overall, out of high school. As he grew into his body transitioned to a wood bat, he made some swing adjustments and had a great 2007 season.
The blind eye to steroids by Major League Baseball is embarrassing, and the effects of steroids on athletes are well documented. However, the effects of HGH are not well known and understood. When confronted by MLB, Schafer accepted responsibility for his actions, apologized to his teammates and his organization, and served his suspension. Respect him and root for him as he works to get into the majors because that type of maturity is not seen in 21 year old professional athletes.

C’MON – If I was DerMarr Johnson, i would be so freakin’ embarrassed that I would never show my face to the public again.
For those of you who do not DerMarr, he was a high school All-American in basketball along with Parade’s National High School Player of the Year in 1999. He went to the University of Cincinnati and ended up being the 6th overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft. In September 2002, Dermarr crashed his Mercedes S600, breaking his neck, and it was feared that he faced paralysis as he missed the entire 02/03 season. In October of 2003, he returned to the court playing in the ABA. DerMarr played in the NBA for the next three seasons, seemingly overcoming the horrific accident and near paralysis to compete at the world’s highest level of basketball. It was a second chance on life and the game that he loved – and he ran with it.
Seems like a wonderful story . . . but here is the disappointing, embarrassing, and just sad part. In June 2007, DerMarr was tasered and arrested outside a Denver nightclub. He was formally charged with resisting arrest. C’MON DerMarr! I guess that you can write that off as possibly “wrong place, wrong time” or whatever else excuse one has used before, but now last month, DerMarr was arrested for DUI!!! C’MON – now there are no excuses. This is obviously the behavior of somebody who has no respect for himself and those family who love him – DerMarr needs help, and i hope those around him can give him the support he needs, but until then, stay away.

June 2, 2008

REALLY – Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) on CBS, REALLY?!?!? On a Saturday night, REALLY?!??! Since the retirement of Lennox Lewis from boxing’s heavyweight division, boxing has had a major decline in popularity. At the same time, MMA has exploded. First PPV, then cable reality shows, now CBS. This is probably the most desperate attempt by a major network at getting ratings in a down year due to the writer’s strike. MMA is entertaining, and CBS put a good show on for those people who have never seen MMA before. But MMA doesn’t belong on CBS – REALLY - it’s not like the big four of baseball, football, hockey, and basketball. What happened to the Saturday night family movie?? Those probably vanished right after the disappearance of Saturday morning cartoons.

SERIOUSLY – Inside Time’s Top 100 Most Influential People issue, there’s an interesting fact: “As many soccer players (4) have made the Time 100 as basketball (3), baseball (1), football (0) combined“.
Think about it – the superstars of the United States three major sports have as many world influential people as soccer., SERIOUSLY! Soccer is truly the world’s game, and I still cannot figure out why soccer isn’t more popular in the USA. It’s a game where the halves are 45 minutes of continual action where every player on the field has to contribute. The hits and tackles are harder since there are no pads – players are continually moving around the field. So don’t give me the “boring to watch on TV speech” because every sport has boring periods. There are no timeouts, there are no catchers throwing the ball back to the pitcher 200-300 times, and there are no huddles before every play – SERIOUSLY!

C’MON - We are in the midst of watching one of the great coaches of all time Phil Jackson work his magic. For all those people who think Phil Jackson is just lucky to have some of the greatest players of all time (Jordan, Pippen, Shaq, Kobe), C’MON!!!!!!!!!

First – there are superstars who have not won championships.
Second – Phil gets his superstars to play each and everyday. No Allen Iverson “Practice” speeches.
Third – Phil gets the most out of the entire team. Guys like Will Perdue, John Paxson, and Luke Walton were barely supposed to hang around in the NBA – yet they became important role players putting in solid minutes off the bench.
Fourth – Phil accurately assesses the game information and makes the decision to change things if needed. This is something Phoenix fans wouldn’t understand anything about after watching the arrogant and pompous Mike D’Antoni coach for the past several years.

May 25, 2008

REALLY – There’s a common saying that men who talk loud, act tough, and drive fast cars with big engines are over compensating for a lack of power under their own engine. So what does it mean if Danica Patrick storms down pit road trying to square off against another driver?
I will tell you what it means – it means that Danica is a serious driver who isn’t going away. She is there to win. While some ignorant fools would think Danicamania is just a PR stunt, it’s REALLY not. To be successful, she has to work harder and be more intense than her fellow competitors. That attitude got her into the Indy Car Circuit, and that same attitude will catapult her to more wins.

SERIOUSLY – Is this the year that the Yankees playoff run is over? It started in 1996 with the arrival of Derek Jeter to the major leagues and World Series wins in ‘96, ‘98, ‘99, and ‘00. Then came the World Series losses in ‘01 and ‘03. Next, the embarrassing AL Championship loss to the Red Sox in ‘04 after the Yanks were up three games to none. The streak could end with three straight losses in the Divisional Series, the departure of manager Joe Torre, and a .2008 .500 season under Joe Girardi.
The Yankees are paying for their greedy owner George Steinbrenner who traded away their prospects and signed aging veterans to huge contracts. That organizational business plan was NOT how they won the four World Series, but it is how the team and organization was destroyed. Now, general manager Brian Cashman is trying to return the business plan to developing youngsters, but the team is struggling. It will take time, but this business plan will be successful – unless the young Hank and Hal Steinbrenner lose patience and act like their father. If they do, the organization will self destruct again, SERIOUSLY.

C’MON – The third highest paid quarterback in the NFL next season is Matt Ryan. Have you heard of him? He was the quarterback for Boston College last fall and the third overall pick of the Atlanta Falcons in the 2008 NFL Draft. Yes, this means he has taken ZERO professional snaps. Not only is he getting $35M guaranteed, Matt Ryan will make more than Tom Brady next season., C’MON! Yes, maybe it is time that the NFL looks into rookie salaries!

May 21, 2008

REALLY – Cancer sucks! It really sucks. Cancer is one of the scariest words in our language. Too many lives are cut way too short due to cancer. I cannot imagine what goes through the mind of somebody once he or she is diagnosed with cancer. It must be horrible, and people stricken with cancer need some hope; hope that they can overcome cancer and return to their normal lives.
Certainly Lance Armstrong provided a public figure to look up to, and now we have the arrival of Jon Lester, starting pitcher, Boston Red Sox. Lester overcome a rare form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Not only did Lester return to the majors, he returned and succeeded. He was the starting pitcher who won the clinching game of the World Series in 2007 against the Colorado Rockies, and now John Lester has pitched a complete game no hitter to defeat the Royals.
While two walks blemish it from being called baseball’s “perfect game”, this was mankind’s “perfect game”. Lester showed that not only can somebody beat cancer, one can return to their previous life and succeed at the highest level, REALLY!
Moms, Dads, brothers, sisters, and friends. Lawyers, teachers, secretaries, doctors, businessmen and women, engineers, and the list of jobs goes on and on. Together, we can all feed off of the energy of each other – getting hope from public successes like John Lester and Lance Armstrong – to overcome cancer and return to our everyday lives.

SERIOUSLY – Professional athletes need to honor the contract that they signed. If you think that the market for your position is going to increase significantly in 3 to 5 years, then don’t sign an 8 year contract. Holding out from your team for a contract (when I say contract – it really should say “Mo’ Money, Mo’ Money, Mo’ Money“) is extremely selfish. A pro who holds out is so selfish that he cannot see that he is hurting more than just the team’s ownership and management, he is destroying his team – SERIOUSLY. As a part of team, each individual is only as strong as its weakest link – and the weakest link is somebody who is off worried about his next paycheck, rather than his next practice or game.

C’MON New Orleans Hornets! I know it is heart breaking to lose in a Game 7 on your home court, but don’t stop working this off-season and please keep this team together. This is one of the most exciting teams to watch in the NBA, and most importantly, this team is helping rebuild a terribly broken city. Chris Paul for MVP in 2009.

May 19, 2008

REALLY – the MLB Players Union is going to look into why Barry Bonds doesn’t have a contract even though he wants to play. Does this truly need to be done – REALLY?? So what if American League teams would rather see what some of their younger players can do, rather than signing a FORTY-THREE year old, clubhouse cancer, who would bring any team signing him negative press. Shouldn’t the MLB Player’s Union be spending its time and money figuring out how to clean up a game tarnished by performane enhancing drugs.

SERIOUSLY – an NFL player will get weighed 10 times throughout the season, and if that player is under his required weight, he gets a $25,000 bonus each time, SERIOUSLY! Kris Jenkins, DT, New York Jets, can get himself an extra quarter million dollars this season, just for making weight. Isn’t this ridiculous – this is a new low for professional athlets. SERIOUSLY, isn’t it enough that you get paid several million dollars a season to play your favorite sport, but now you get 10 bonuses for being in shape. That is embarrassing. How dare a professional athletes report to his job in shape? SERIOUSLY – can you image if a secretary got a bonus for typing 60 words a minute or if a reporter got a bonus for turning in his article on time? Can we start punishing athletes for their lack of respect for their own job requirements?

C’MON – when will this presidential election be over so we can all move on with our lives and make some progress? I am a big U.S.A. supporter, and I love this country, its people and its values. But C’MON, doesn’t it make you sick to see how much money this candidates are spending? In January of 2008, Obama spent $30M and Clinton spent $28.4M. In February of 2008, Obama spent $42.9M and Clinton spent $31.8M. That’s just two months – together, they have raised a half of a BILLION DOLLARS! C’MON – when does it sink in that all this money spent “campaigning” can be used to actually solve the problems of their constituents?

May 15, 2008

REALLY – when will members of Congress butt out of professional sports? As a loyal tax paying citizen of the finest country in the world, I am just sooooooooooo happy that our Congress is worrying about videotapes of hand signals or the use of illegal substances or if Barry Bonds lied – REALLY. It is so good that our members of Congress don’t have better things to work on like health care or the deficit or global warming. Look, the Patriots have been punished extremely hard by the new NFL commissioner, and the careers of Bonds, Clemens, McGwire, and Palmeiro are forever scorned due to the accusations and Congressional hearings. If Congress does want to get involved, instead of performance enhancers or videotapes, maybe Congress could work on figuring out why it cost me $200 bucks to go to a ballgame with my wife – REALLY!

SERIOUSLY – I am having a problem because I love ice hockey. It is one of the greatest games and my favorite sporting event to see live (indoor lacrosse is a close second with the continuous great music playing- but I digress). So SERIOUSLY, do I watch the playoffs on Versus/Outdoor Life Network or don’t I? If I do watch the game – will it make the ratings higher so ESPN will want to cover NHL? If I don’t watch the game – will the NHL finally wake up and move it off of that channel – that channel is so low on your cable listings, it is somewhere between the Hallmark Channel and the Watching Paint Dry Channel. SERIOUSLY NHL – make it better!

C’MON – Am I right or am I right?! American Idol goes with David vs. David in their final. The show’s producers got their equivalent of Yankees/Red Sox, Patriots/Colts, Lakers/Celtics. What? What was that Simon? All I hear is BLAH BLAH BLAH CHA-CHING CHA-CHING BLAH BLAH BLAH CHA-CHING CHA-CHING! C’MON make it less obvious.