Monday, August 31, 2009

A break from sports

There are times when the most moronic of athletes deserve a break from criticism.
This is one of those.
Fires are raging all around the foothills of Los Angeles County. One is almost 105,000 acres in size and stretches some 20 miles. It's burning through land that hasn't been burned in 60 years and – oddly enough – isn't getting help from the warming Santa Ana winds, one of the main contributors to fire season in Southern California.
Two firefighters are dead. As of late this afternoon, their brethren are trying to find ways to rescue five people who stayed behind in Little Tujunga Canyon, which is north of Los Angeles, and now want out. The east side of the fire is threatening the L.A. area's answer to Lookout Mountain plus a 104-year-old observatory.
We'll have time to get back to games on the pro, college and high school level. But not now. Instead, we'll send nothing but the best thoughts and wishes for families, friends and firefighters in the fire area.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Marshall suspension

Is anyone honestly surprised?
He doesn't know the playbook, doesn't want to know the playbook, thinks the whole world is against him and generally acts like a 4-year-old.
I ask again ... does this surprise the masses?

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Free advice

Because the Denver media think John Elway has something to say about all things, I'll offer my free advice to the Denver media.
Stop subjecting him to us.
Thank you.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Once burned, twice shy doesn't apply

Brandon Marshall of the Denver Broncos and John Calipari, the mens basketball coach at the University of Kentucky, have something in common.
They don't learn very well.
Marshall's case (he of the repeated accusations of violence against women) isn't all that unusual among highly paid college graduates who don't have an ounce of brains. Instead of blaming his teammates for not supporting him after his acquittal on the most recent charges, Marshall should take some steps to correct his behavior. That's where the "I in team" comes into play.
In Calipari's case, his Memphis team had to surrender 38 wins from the 2007-2008 basketball season and its Final Four appearance. Why? Because someone took an entrance exam for one of the players. This is the second time in Calipari's coaching career that mysterious exam-takers have popped up to save his bacon.
Hey John – did you ever stop and think someone might actually find out what you're doing is not on the up an up? Or did you ever stop and think?

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

What will we do now?

It seems that the former Green Bay quarterback with the ego that matches all of the state of Wisconsin has signed with Minnesota for at least two years.
He said his daughter made the decision for him.
I can't say what I really think. Even free speech has its limits. But it wasn't his daughter that made the choice. The QB's out-of-control ego did.
Now that he has a place to play, we can turn our attention to something just as asinine.
Is Michael Jackson still dead?

Monday, August 17, 2009

Leave it alone already

Did anyone else notice a certain amount of glee in the on-field problems of one former Denver quarterback over the weekend? -- you know, the one whose last name sounds like a collection of silverware on the dinner table?
Yes, he did have problems. So did his replacement in Denver. Yes, it's the first game of the preseason.
And, more to the point of this --
No one cares.
The former Broncos QB is a top-notch jerk. But he's not news in this part of the world any more. If the local media want to take a critical look at something, examine the yearly made-up quarterback controversy. But leave the dinner-ware dude out of the discussion.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Eagles land Vick

So jump in with both feet ... good move? Bad move?
First glance says Vick may not get a lot of playing time once he's reinstated. After all, there is some guy named McNabb in front of him who still plays pretty well.

Monday, August 10, 2009

In case you'd forgotten

The Colorado Rockies Web site is still quite adept at throwing people out of the ticket queue on their Web site ... even for regular season games. It happened twice Saturday morning in the span of about five minutes.
That Web site has to be the worst thing about the team, save, perhaps, for that moronic purple dinosaur. It should not be that hard to log on, pick a game, chose seats for the chosen game and make a transaction.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Scully may be finished in 2010

There was an item on the Web Wednesday morning about the retirement of legendary Dodgers' announcer Vin Scully, perhaps as early as the end of next season. If true, Scully will have worked in seven decades and 61 seasons for one team – not to mention doing a host of other things that other teams would do well to follow.
His heir apparent, Eric Collins, was hired this year and does the TV games east of the Rocky Mountains – about 40 in all.
One of the columnists in the L.A. Times, Chris Erskine, ripped Collins in print. While not wishing to be the next voice of the Dodgers after Vin Scully, the writer still pointed out that Collins is "painful and seems to need more seasoning."
Duh.
Anyone who takes on any new job is going to need seasoning. The secret is to give the employee time to make the job his own. All of us have been the recipient of such patience.
I've not heard Collins, but I am sure his style is different from Scully's. Whose wouldn't be? There are two people in the world who can quote Shakespeare, Chaucer and show tunes in the span of a baseball game – Scully and his mentor, Red Barber.
Somebody gave Scully the opportunity to put his stamp on the Dodgers' broadcasts once upon a time. And it worked rather well, I dare say. It would be nice if the L.A. media would be as kind to Eric Collins.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Vick a Bronco?

If you were in charge of the Broncos' payroll, would you sign him?
The floor is open.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Slow days to come

I'm not a big fan of media coverage of every breath taken at anyone's training camp.
But it is August, and everyone and his mother are at Broncos training camp to do their yearly chronicle.
Guess that means I won't be subjected to reports of daily choices of music before practice.
I'm heartbroken.