Views, views, and more views…
Talking heads across the nation are having a field day ripping Dodger fan “for blindly supporting” Manny Ramirez. As an Angel honk, you might be surprised, but I’m not going to follow their lead. Dodger fan has every right to support their hero, who did the crime and did the time, But I’m saving my vitriol for Dodger management, who again show why they are second best in town. Three years ago I saw Frank McCourt, in an interview on the subject of Barry Bonds, get on his soapbox and state that there was no place for performance enhancing drugs, that baseball had to get tough, and, most significantly, that there should be only one strike and any player caught should be thrown out of baseball. So what’s his thought on his OWN player getting caught? I’m not hearing anything of that sort of tough talk now. Angel owner Arte Moreno refused to sign barry Bonds because of his strong belief in the anti PED policy. Also, the Dodgers have bent over backward to show preferential treatment to Manny the same way the giants did for Bonds. When Manny was traded here, he was supposed to cut his hair in respect of Joe Torre’s rule. Not only has he not cut his hair, the Dodgers biggest seller is that wig with those long Manny dread locks. If you can’t control him, might as well make a buck, huh, Frank? Hey, when your kid does something wrong, one thing you do is make him face the music so he can realize he did wrong. But the Dodgers had a campaign to get as many fans as possible to San Diego, to blunt the booing and make it easier for Manny. Are you kidding me? He’s a big boy, he should know he did something wrong. A couple of years ago, Kobe Bryant wanted out of Los Angeles. On opening day, Laker fans did the unthinkable, and booed him. Of course, we now cheer him, but it’s good to let these guys know that we’re not dumb, and hear our dissatisfaction. Of course, as bad as Dodger management was, nobody is as bad as Vic The Brick, who for the past months has had a “Free Manny” mantra. Free him from what? His own stupidity? I guess you have to excuse Vic for having brain damage from an overdose of Kobe Bryant’s a** from having his head up there so long…
Lost in the Ron Artest to Los Angeles, Shaq to Cleveland, and other NBA deals was the curious decision of Hedo Turkoglu. Turkoglu, whose stock really rose after an amazing NBA playoff run with Orlando, was all set to sign with Portland, which would really have given the Blazers a solid veteran presence and make them a more dangerous threat to the Lakers than they already are. But after committing to Portland, Turkoglu changed his mind and decided to sign with—Toronto? It begs to ask—why? Toronto is a nowhere team with no chance to go anywhere. Maybe Hedo is happy with what happened last season and is just cashing in his lottery ticket. Of course the obvious reason is more money, but Turkoglu would never admit it. Fans would have more respect if guys would just answer truthfully and state the obvious. By the way, my Celtics pal Chris was ecstatic over the team’s signing of Rasheed Wallace and proclaimed it made them better than anyone. I countered with “No, it makes them OLDER than anyone.” It reminds me of the Lakers bringing in Gary Payton and Karl Malone. On paper it looks like a great team, but only in fantasy league. By the end of next regular season, the Celtics will be huffing and puffing their way to a loss in the conference finals…
On the Fourth Of July, the day Americans celebrate Independence Day, the best American sports success story ever, in my opinion, was on display in England for all the world to see. Serena Williams beat her sister Venus to win her 11th Grand Slam event at Wimbledon. Tennis is an elitist sport where the majority of players are rich and come the “hard streets” of the upper class communities and taught by pros in country clubs. If just Venus had come out of inner city Compton with her dad as her only coach, and raised on public courts, it would be a great story, But for her and Serena to come from the same family and same environment is incredible, and a testament to her parents, and truly a great American story. If you were to write that script, it is so unbelievable it would be laughed out of Hollywood…
Protests on American journalists to the contrary, Roger Federer is the greatest male tennis player ever. I don’t care about the competition, his consistent brilliant play is unmatched by any one—ever. The second best male player was Martina Navratilova. Just kidding. But if I wanted one player in a match with all my savings at stake, I’d say, “Give me Jimmy Connors!”…
The tragic shooting death of Steve McNair once again illustrates why children should never look up to athletes as role models. I loved watching him play quarterback, he was a true warrior who played every play like it was his last. But he is just an athlete You can respect their on the field greatness and courage, but off the field they are almost certain to be more flawed than the normal person because they have a sense of entitlement none of us have ever had…
You can have your opinions of Michael Jackson’s wacky behavior, but I grew up with The Jackson Five, and almost every girl I went out with, and the woman that I married were big fans, so his music was always around me. I will readily admit I had a problem with his declaring he liked to sleep with children, but only he and God knew what was in his heart. His death hit me harder than I thought it would, because he was a huge part of my life. The memorial service was touching and I even admit to having a big lump in my throat watching the heart felt speeches given by friends and family. Sure it’s easy to are cheap shots at him, and they may or may not be deserved, but the truth is that he made a huge impact on this Earth, and gave much more than a lot of people in his position have. I wasn’t really stunned at his passing because I could never imagine a 60 or 70 year old Michael Jackson. One statement that struck me was that while a lot of people still viewed him as child like, at the time of his passing, he was older than the President Of the United States. Rest In Peace, Michael…
Finally…..
As entertaining as the hot dog eating contest was, and as disgusted as I was watching Joey Chestnut consume 68 cholesterol filled, heart blocking hot dogs in 10 minutes, I have to say the commentary is great. After the match, the blow by blow (bite by bite?) commentator asked the “analyst” his opinion of Chestnut’s feat. He said, I’m assuming with a straight face, “I’m just blown away and honestly, I’m too EMOTIONAL right now to have an objective opinion.” I looked around the corner to make sure the Apocalypse wasn’t around the corner…
