Archive for January, 2003

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January 31st, 2003

Title IX Tiptoe

Yesterday, a commission chartered by the Department of Education to suggest changes in the way Title IX is enforced in college athletics passed along a slate of watered down proposals for the consideration of Education Secretary Rod Paige. And, in the eyes of Title IX critics, the forces of reform went away with a black eye.

Sports blogger Dan Lewis is pretty exercised over yesterday's votes, accusing foes of reform of simple vindictiveness. Over at National Review Online, Jessica Gavora, well known Title IX critic and aide to Attorney General John Ashcroft, credits the defeat of the reformists to the fact that Title IX defenders were able to marshall a media barrage when it looked like the commission was prepared to suggest some reccomendations with teeth.

I think they ought to take a second look, as I believe the Bush people are playing possum on this issue, at least for now.

Why? One thing that caught my eye was the following passage that was picked up in a number of stories. According to Gavora:

Following this media barrage, the final recommendations approved by the commission on Thursday fell far short of the reforms hinted at in December. A proposal tabled by Brigham Young University counsel Tom Griffith to abolish the proportionality test outright was defeated 11-4. And in the most disappointing defeat of the day, a watered-down version of the Debbie Yow proposal

Posted in Culture, Misc. Sports, Politics by Eric McErlain | No Comments »

 
January 31st, 2003

Wither Georgetown Basketball?

That's the question that Skip Oliva is considering over at The Intellectual Passivist, and he finds that the demise of the once great national basketball power isn't that big a deal at all:

When you get right down to it, however, Georgetown is a middle-of-the-pack program, and it will remain that way for the forseeable future, regardless of who is coaching. The major reason for this, I think, is that Georgetown officials finally realized they don't need a flashy basketball program to be a nationally respected school. The university community seems fine with this, and they should be. The lack of "outage" [WTEM Radio Personality Andy] Pollin decries is simply maturity. Would it be better if [Georgetown head coach] Esherick was burned in effigy, the way Bill Guthridge was at North Carolina and how Tubby Smith still as at Kentucky? I doubt it.

I took a trip on a Saturday afternoon to a half-empty, and lifeless, MCI Center not long ago to watch Georgetown take on St. John's. There was a spirited, but small, student section under one basket making some noise, but not nearly enough to make a real difference. If anything, I came away thinking it was time for Georgetown to build a bandbox of an arena on campus that students could get to easily in order to watch the games. Unfortunately, their neighbors surrounding the campus would never let it happen, and something tells me that the Jesuits who run the school are happy with what they have.

Posted in Basketball by Eric McErlain | No Comments »

 
January 31st, 2003

Jersey Gate

And no, I'm not talking about a toll plaza on the Garden State Parkway. Back in Ohio, it looks as if prep basketball phenom LeBron James may have gotten himself into the sort of trouble that might cut his high school career short. A few days ago, while shopping in a local clothing store, the owner gave James a pair of "throwback" jerseys worth over $800.

So, essentially, after being cleared of charges he violated the rules by getting a $50,000 automobile, James' high school athletic career might be undone for about $800 worth of clothes.

As reported by ESPN.com, the Ohio high school bylaws state:

Ohio High School Athletic Association bylaws state that an athlete forfeits his or her amateur status by "capitalizing on athletic fame by receiving money or gifts of monetary value.''

But then again, if the student's school capitalizes on the student's athletic fame -- say by selling television rights to ESPN or a local cable television pay-per-view outfit -- then that's just fine.

POSTSCRIPT: If you're curious, James snagged Gale Sayers and Wes Unseld from the store.

BUSTED! The powers that be in Ohio basketball have determined that James has violated the league's bylaws, and he has been declared ineligible to play for the remainder of the season -- an action that effectively ends his high school basketball career. In addition, his high school must forfeit the last game they played with James in the lineup.

Posted in Basketball by Eric McErlain | No Comments »

 
January 30th, 2003

An All Star Alternative

After bashing the Pro Bowl the other day, I thought it was only fair to mention that "other" All-Star game taking place on Sunday afternoon just prior to the festivities in Honolulu -- the NHL All-Star Game. Like the Pro Bowl, it's a matchup that has little in common with a real hockey game, as players who want to avoid injury would rather see it played like a loose scrimmage, or even an afternoon of pond hockey.

Last October, when the league announced that it was ditching the North America against the World format it developed to spark interest in the 1998 and 2002 Olympic tournaments, I suggested going back to an older format -- one where a team of All-Stars played against the defending Stanley Cup champions.

While I think it's an idea that holds up well (including moving the game to the pre-season), I've come up with another idea that harkens back to the game's roots. Because while most kids these days play inside enclosed rinks all around North America and Europe, there was a time when hockey was played on frozen ponds and canals littered across the world in places like Laval, Kladno, Malmo, and Brookline.

The very first greats of the game didn't begin forging their legends doing time inside a junior national team program. Instead, they did it spending endless hours skating far away from adult supervision, honing their skills and testing them against their friends.

So, it's time to move the NHL All-Star Game outdoors. Back into the elements where the great game was first forged.

Granted, it's been done before. In October 2001, nearly 75,000 fans watched Michigan State and Michigan play to a 3-3 tie at Spartan Stadium. For most of the day, the temperatures hovered just above freezing with gusts of wind up to 30 miles per hour.

Sounds like the perfect venue for an NHL All-Star Game to me.

Of course, there are plenty of logistical problems, but nothing that couldn't be surmounted. Any "major sport" All-Star game is calculated to fete and flatter the league's biggest sponsors, but something tells me it wouldn't be much trouble to construct heated bubbles to keep the VIPs happy. It isn't like they pay too much attention to the game anyway.

I'd suggest Minnesota as an ideal place to hold the first outdoor All-Star game, but they're already slated to host next year's game. Any suggestions? Something tells me anywhere in the American Midwest or Northeast would probably do -- preferably near a major airport (outside Boston or Detroit, perhaps?). Part of me would love to see it played on a lake somewhere outside Toronto, but the mid-Winter date for the game might make that impractical.

I'm anxious to hear what the audience thinks. Fire away.

Posted in Hockey by Eric McErlain | 2 Comments »

 
January 29th, 2003

Exit Turner, Wither Atlanta Sports?

On the same day AOL/Time Warner announced a $44.9 billion loss, Vice Chairman Ted Turner announced his resignation as well -- something that has folks on the Atlanta sports scene a little worried:

Will AOL Time Warner, which just reported a staggering fourth-quarter loss of $44.9 billion, be more willing to dump its Atlanta sports teams with Turner out of the way? In particular, analysts have speculated that AOL Time Warner will be looking to raise cash by selling the Braves, who have won 11 straight division titles but are plagued by declining attendance. Forbes magazine estimated two years ago that the team was worth $407 million. Stan Kasten, who is president of the Braves, Hawks and Thrashers, was stunned by the news that the 64-year-old Turner was stepping down to spend more time on his philanthropic endeavors. "There's nothing I can say about his new role or relationship because I simply don't know," Kasten said in a telephone interview from his home Wednesday evening. "I just found out an hour ago. All of us in Atlanta just found out."

Even before Turner's departure, the Atlanta Braves were learning to live with a much tighter budget, the departure of free agent pitcher Tom Glavine simply being the highest profile subtraction from the Braves roster.

But as much as AOL/Time Warner might want to exit the sports business, they might not be able to leave anywhere near as quickly as they might like. If anything, the NBA's Atlanta Hawks are the most attractive property in their portfolio and should be easy to move -- something that also makes it harder to part with.

The Braves, while they might have a recent heritage of success, look tough to move as -- especially in light of the fact that Disney can't find a buyer for the World Series champion Anahiem Angels, and Rupert Murdoch's NewsCorp can't find one for the L.A. Dodgers either.

Compounding the problem: AOL/Time Warner is unlikely to want to part with the Braves television package that is the cornerstone of programming on the Superstation. Without the Braves, the Superstation has a huge programming hole to filll. But without being able to move the television rights, the value of the Braves is greatly diminished (something that's also a problem with a potential sale of the Dodgers).

As for the Thrashers, AOL/Time Warner might be better off merely folding the team. After drawing large crowds in the wake of the return of ice hockey to Atlanta, most fans come to Thrashers games these days disguised as empty seats. And with a lockout looming, and two other teams in bankruptcy, an NHL franchise isn't looking like a wise investment these days. In the end, getting AOL/Time Warner out of the sports business is going to be a far more complicated exercise than it was for Ted Turner to get it in.

UPDATE: Late last night, Steve MacLaughlin predicted that Turner would be getting back in the game, and according to Matt Drudge, he may be right.

Posted in Baseball, Basketball, Business, Hockey, Media, Misc. Sports by Eric McErlain | No Comments »

 
January 29th, 2003

Sather’s Scapegoat

With the honorable choice of resigning and shouldering the blame for the persistently disappointing play of the New York Rangers an impossibility, team General Manager Glen Sather instead took the easy way out and fired rookie head coach Bryan Trottier instead:

The move comes after New York dropped a 5-2 road decision to Atlanta on Tuesday. The loss was the Rangers' third straight to the woeful Thrashers this season by a combined 16-7 score. "After the last three games we made the decision that the team is sliding in the wrong way," Rangers general manager Glen Sather said during a conference call. "I just felt that I had to do something and had to do it quickly if we were going to salvage the season."

The Rangers - who were idle Wednesday - said they won't name a new coach until prior to the Rangers' game Thursday against Colorado. Assistants Jim Schoenfeld and Terry O'Reilly and director of player personnel Tom Renney are the likely successors.

Just last week, Trottier, perhaps the greatest player to ever don the "bleu, blanc, et orange," returned to the the Islanders home rink for the first time as Rangers head coach, and his players responded with a 5-0 shutout. This is nothing short of tragic for Trottier, who if he simply stayed put in Colorado this past offseason, would most likely be the head coach of the Avalanche right now. And with injuries knocking Mike Richter, Brian Leetch, and Pavel Bure from the lineup at one time or another, it hardly seems fair that Trottier should have to take the fall.

On NHL2Night a few minutes ago, Sather said you can't shy away from hiring somebody because you have a history of a hotly contested rivalry. But know this: if Trottier had been a Rangers great, he would have never been fired this quickly. If there's any justice in the world, Sather and his spendthrift ways willl get booted out of Manhattan in the offseason, and shipped back to Alberta via air freight.

UPDATE: Over at Hockeybird, Pete Rocha is dancing on Trottier's grave.

Captain Sather Lashes Himself To The Mast: After determining that Trottier wasn't the answer, Sather has decided to get hands on with the situation and coach the team himself. I wonder if Sather shouldn't have hired himself to coach the team in the first place, rather than blasting a hole in the careers of Trottier and ex-Rangers coach Ron Low.

Posted in Hockey by Eric McErlain | 1 Comment »

 
January 29th, 2003

Morning Sports Potpourri

Have your doubts about Title IX -- then make sure to read John Irving's piece from the New York Times (yes, that John Irving, writer and wrestling legend) on how the principle of proportionality has been spun into a hard gender quota in college athletic departments. The result: the destruction of countless men's minor sports and the extinction of the male "walk-on" athlete. Expect this issue to get red hot here in the sports "dead zone". Thanks to Erin O'Connor, reporting from the front line in the culture war on campus, for the link. Keep low, Erin.

Jason at Stick and Move, a denizen of Saratoga isn't happy about horse racing's Eclipse Awards. Hint to Jason: own horse racing and have your shot at owning an audience. Keep it up.

The rumor, excuse me, rumour mill North of the Border is working overtime, and John Campea of The Hockey Pundits is dreaming of Alexi Kovalev getting shipped to Toronto for the moral equivalent of a skate sharpener, a bag of pucks, and a lace hook. Meanwhile, Mario Lemieux and a host of others will be taking a powder during this weekend's NHL All-Star Game, and Brett Hull is still looking for goal number 700.

Tim Kraus is MIA at The End of the Bench, leaving me with the burning questions: What about Jerry Sloan and Ron Artest?

Last night I had a dream: Steve Smith and Thomas Inskeep were co-hosts of ESPN's College Hoops Tonight. Special guest stars: The Housemartins.

LeBron James got into a fender bender -- a right of passage for every young driver. Something tells me the folks at his car insurance company won't be cancelling his policy. But they will jack up his rate.

UPDATE: The NBA suspended Sloan for seven games. Artest got a four game suspension.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Tim took a few minutes out after class to offer his own thoughts on Sloan and Artest. As for Reggie Miller, he has his own take too.

Posted in Basketball, Culture, Hockey, Misc. Sports, Music by Eric McErlain | 2 Comments »

 
January 28th, 2003

Super Bowl Footnote

Uncovered by the New York Daily News, and pointed to by Tuesday Morning Quarterback's Gregg Easterbrook:

But note that the story, from the New York Daily News, says that not only did Jon "I Was a Teenaged Coach" Gruden play Rich Gannon in Bucs practices: he told Bucs defensive players the Raiders' audible code-words, and the Raiders came into the Super Bowl not having changed their code words. Oakland knew Gruden knew its audible codes and yet kept them! The Daily News says that during the game, when Gannon barked audibles, Tampa defenders immediately called out the play. Ye gods.

Posted in Football by Eric McErlain | 1 Comment »

 
January 28th, 2003

Pro Bowl Blues

This Sunday afternoon, the most inconsequential football game of the year will take place in Hawaii, and I'm guessing few fans will even notice that the Pro Bowl is going on. Heck, even John Madden, due to his fear of flying, won't be travelling to Hawaii to broadcast the game. Over at National Review Online, Steve Chapman says it's time to put the Pro Bowl out to pasture:

It may be unfair to say nothing exciting has ever happened in a Pro Bowl. In fact, there may have been thrilling plays that nobody remembers because nobody saw them. Last year, the NFL had to go to great lengths just to sell all 50,000 seats in the stadium

Posted in Business, Football, Media by Eric McErlain | No Comments »

 
January 28th, 2003

Norman Won’t Be Back At The Masters

With the best years of his career behind him, it shouldn't be a surprise that Greg Norman won't be back at The Masters as a competitor this Spring.

Last year, Norman needed an exemption from Augusta National in order to play in the tournament. In an interview with the AP, Norman was actually supportive of the decision, though he did add one little wrinkle:

Will he miss being at the Masters?

``Not with this Martha Burk business going on,'' Norman said, alluding to the debate over the club's all-male membership.

POSTSCRIPT: Over in Singapore, a mother of three seems to be having more luck with the club these days than Norman:

A Singapore mother of three has scored two holes-in-one in a month twice.

Christine Keung made her first holes-in-one on Oct. 5 and 20, the Straits Times reported Tuesday. She repeated the feat on Dec. 7 and 27.

''I can't believe it,'' Keung said.

Posted in Golf by Eric McErlain | No Comments »

 
January 28th, 2003

Down The Memory Hole

From Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish:

MTV AGAINST THE WAR: Yep, in Germany, they're running PSAs from pop-stars in defense of Saddam. Moby, whose music I love, is particularly dumb. But why is MTV adopting a controversial political stand under the slogan "War Is Not The Answer"? Isn't it even supposed to pretend to be neutral?

Now that I'm in my mid-30s, I find it increasingly easy to bash MTV, but we shouldn't exactly be surprised by something like this. Back in the run-up to the Gulf War, the late John Lennon's son, Sean, and Lenny Kravitz re-recorded "Give Peace A Chance" as a protest to Gulf War I. Quite predictably, the video, which featured a vareity of different artists (many who would probably want us to forget they participated, Tom Petty, white courtesy phone), soon found its way into heavy rotation on MTV. As one ex-DJ remembers:

The song was aired via satellite to radio stations around the country on January 15 - the day of the United Nation's deadline for Iraq to leave Kuwait. WSOO-AM and its sister station, 101-FM (where I work) picked it up at 6AM that morning and aired the song throughout the day on both stations. MTV received the video version of the song and played it on the hour for several hours, with a 15-minute non-stop back-to-back marathon running at midnight on the 15th/16th.

No, it wasn't a PSA, but it was just as clear an indication of MTV's political position as anything else. As I recall, within minutes of the start of the air war against Iraq, the folks at MTV couldn't pull the video off the air fast enough, for fear of appearing to fail to support America's troops in the field. My guess is that it will be much the same this time.

Posted in Culture, Media, Music, Politics by Eric McErlain | No Comments »

 
January 28th, 2003

Justice, Italian Style

Over in Italy, a refereeing scandal is engulfing the "Serie A", the highest level of Italian soccer. The focus of the controversy is traditional power AC Milan, which has enjoyed a series of close calls that have proven "deadly" to their rivals, as pointed out by the Washington Post's Daniel Williams.

It doesn't help that AC is owned by Silvio Berlusconi, the current Italian Prime Minister, something that has set up a situation akin to Major League Baseball where "former" Milwaukee Brewers owner Bud Selig is the current commissioner.

Williams explains:

The vice president and day-to-day operator of AC Milan is Adriano Galliani, who is also the soccer commissioner, elected by the other owners. His office is therefore in charge of selecting referees and promoting them. Galliani's dual role parallels the situation of Berlusconi himself, who is not only prime minister but also a media magnate. Much of what he touches in his official duties touch his private business and the business of competitors.

His conflicts of interest are a constant topic of Italian politics. Government appointees run three state television networks that are in competition with three networks owned by Berlusconi. A public dispute has raged for weeks over whether state TV's ratings are suffering because of conveniently bad management appointed by Berlusconi.

Nice work if you can get it. Then again, as the free market sports fan has to point out, if you really want Berlusconi's hands off state run television, then why not just privatize it?

Posted in Media, Soccer by Eric McErlain | No Comments »

 
January 27th, 2003

Welcome Back

This week, we welcome back two old friends to the Blogosphere. After what seems like an endless hiatus, Matt Moore has returned to The Blog of the Century of the Week. I don't know about anybody else, but I really missed Matt's wry sense of humor. Blog world is better with him back.

Also back from an extended, but far less extensive hiatus, is Professor Jeff Cooper's Cooped Up. Jeff has promised a redesign soon, but his blog is one of the best out there even using a plain old blogger template. Good to see these two old friends return.

Posted in Media by Eric McErlain | No Comments »

 
January 27th, 2003

Super Surprise

READER ALERT

I'll be sticking with updating the post-Super Bowl information for most of the day, so keep checking back in this space for new items.

* * *

A few days ago when I picked the Buccaneers to win the Super Bowl, I never anticipated that the margin of victory would even approach the 27-point licking they laid on the Raiders last night. Then again, there was one thing I did anticipate:

I'm an unabashed fan of Jon Gruden, and like the idea that he may know the Raiders better than they know themselves. If there is anyone in the universe who might have an inkling of how to stop the Raiders, it's Gruden.

And last night, here's how the AP saw it:

Although Gruden denied it, his knowledge of his old team worked out perfectly.

''Every play they've run, we've run in practice,'' Tampa Bay safety John Lynch said.

Bingo. If anything, my respect for Gruden shot through the roof over the past few weeks. In essense, he's the sort of guy who doesn't mind if credit for success gets spread around. After beating Philadelphia in the NFC Championship last week, he made sure to credit ex-Tampa Bay Head Coach Tony Dungy for the work he did turning Tampa Bay into a winner and helping the team shed its sad sack image. And tonight, in the immediate aftermath of the biggest win of his career, Gruden denied that he had anything to do with his defense's performance, saying he had left them alone all week -- implicitly crediting defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin.

And here's what's really scary. It's clear now that after a shaky start to this past season, Tampa Bay's offense is humming along just fine. If anything, it seems as if Gruden has reconstructed the same sort of offense in Tampa Bay that he put together in Oakland. There were more than a few downs tonight where Michael Pittman was looking plenty like Charlie Garner. For short yardage situations, he's got the bruising Mike Alstott (who picked a great time not to fumble last night). At quarterback, he's got a veteran in Brad Johnson who has been successful no matter where he's gone, one who completely buys into Gruden's system of overpreperation. And finally, just as he did in Oakland, he's stockpiled a group of talented receivers ready for any eventuality.

Sure, Keyshawn Johnson was already in town when Gruden arrived. But in just one season, he added Keenan McCardell, Joe Jurevicius, Ken Dilger and Ricky Dudley. Best of all, each of these guys comes pretty cheap, especially compared to the payrolls other teams have to deal with (including the Raiders, who make the descent into Salary Cap Hell this offseason).

I'll have more later, but for now, here are the big winners and losers from yesterday's game:

Winners

Tampa Bay Bucs Owner Malcolm Glazer -- $8 million and draft picks is pretty cheap if it means a Super Bowl, especially one right off the bat. After his aborted attempt to hire Bill Parcells after last season failed (a process that went on essentially behind Dungy's back), Glazer was beaten senseless around the league. But he stayed patient, and was able to pry Gruden away from Oakland for far less than they originally asked for.

Bucs Coach Jon Gruden -- After essentially being driven out of Oakland, Gruden gets to stick it to his ex-boss Al Davis on the grandest stage possible. Is there anybody out there who's probably more smugly satisifed (and rightly so) than Gruden is right now?

Bucs Quarterback Brad Johnson -- Two seasons after being run out of Washington for no good reason at all, he's on top of the world. If anything, Johnson lost both of his last two starting jobs through no fault of his own. In both Minnesota and Washington he simply got injured, and management, forgetting about the incredible numbers he put up, asked him to move on. Looks like Tampa Bay will be the last stop in his career.

Losers

Oakland Raiders Owner Al Davis -- the only reasons Gruden didn't manage to get the Raiders to the Super Bowl the last two seasons were a freak injury to Rich Gannon in the 2000 AFC Championship Game, and then a freak call (the famous tuck) in the Divisional Playoff in 2001 in a New England blizzard. For that, Davis decided he wanted to give Gruden a ticket out of town -- and for a while he looked like the big winner sitting on an $8 million pile and a bunch of draft picks he got from Glazer. Wonder if Al would be willing to void that deal now?

Dallas Cowboys Coach Bill Parcells -- One year ago, he left the Bucs standing at the altar -- and that after he had signed a contract agreeing to coach the team. If he had just gone through with what he had agreed to, he might very well have been celebrating in San Diego tonight instead of Gruden, his place in pro football history assured, and probably contemplating a permanent retirement counting his money and playing the ponies. Instead, he's looking at 2-3 seasons of spade work in Dallas working with football anti-genius Jerry Jones. Good luck, Bill, you're going to need it.

Washington Redskins Owner Dan Snyder -- Two seasons ago Snyder thought he'd light a fire under then starting quarterback Brad Johnson by signing prepetual malcontent Jeff George to be the backup. Instead, the move just ticked off Johnson, who spent most of his last season in Washington injured and biding his time to just get out of town and away from Snyder and his dopey antics.

One year later George was banished in mid-season, and the Redskins haven't had a half-decent quarterback since (Patrick Ramsey has yet to prove anything to me). Now, with Parcells back in the NFC East, and the Eagles and Giants back on the upswing, the prospects for Washington in the medium terms looks pretty bleak.

UPDATE: Glad to see that "Raider Nation" is taking the loss in its typically understated and sublime manner. Refer to the "Manifesto" for more details.

ANOTHER UPDATE: What does the result of last night's game have to say about the future direction of the stock market? Find out here. Today's New York Times endorses introducing an element of European Soccer to American football to light a fire under teams that take their share of the profits without reinvesting in players to help them win. Both links courtesy of our friends at Sportsfilter.

YET ANOTHER UPDATE For a review of the best in Super Bowl ads, click here for Steve MacLaughlin's take. Like Steve, the "Terry Tate, Office Linebacker" spot by Reebok was my favorite. Andrew Racine wasn't nearly as impressed. James Lileks has his own take.

Yesterday's broadcast grabbed the best television rating for a Super Bowl since 1998, snagging 43.8 percent of the available audience. That's a 3 percent increase from last year's New England-St. Louis overtime thriller. The all-time high remains the 49.1 rating posted by the 1982 Cincy-San Francisco clash that ended in a 26-21 win for the Niners.

About 1 million people around the country could view yesterday's game in HDTV, and if you missed it, here's what you didn't get a chance to see according to the AP:

Individual beads of sweat dripping off Warren Sapp's forehead. Gruesome slash marks on Mike Alstott's left arm and the calcium deposits on Jon Ritchie's forehead that showed up in much-too-real clarity. Stubble on nearly every coach's chin. Single blades of grass flying off kicker Martin Gramatica's shoe.

Then again, maybe I can wait a few more years before upgrading my set.

ANOTHER INTERESTING UPDATE: From the Reuters Wire:

Nine people were arrested after raids on New York betting parlors on charges of taking millions of dollars in illegal wagers on Sunday's NFL Super Bowl, a scheme one official called "the cash cow" of organized crime. Every year for the last 12 years, prosecutors in Brooklyn have raided the parlors in the weeks leading up the final game of the professional football season to make arrests for illegal gambling on the Super Bowl that amounts to $4 billion nationwide.

At a news conference on Sunday to announce arrests over the past week, Brooklyn prosecutor Charles Hynes urged professional sports organizations to "more aggressively" support efforts to stamp out the betting businesses run by Italian and Chinese mobsters.

"This money that mob families make on Super Bowl Sunday will go toward funding their other illegal activities including drug trafficking, loan sharking and prostitution," Hynes said.

Interesting story. BTW -- if gambling is so horrible, then why does New York State run a lottery? And don't forget OTB. After all, if you just legalized gambling, you could tax it and regulate it -- which is probably a more efficient way to stamp it out in the long run anyway.

PERHAPS THE LAST UPDATE: Here's what Slate's Sports Nut had to say about officiating in yesterday's game:

Both Oakland and ABC had a better game than the officials. Paul Tagliabue and the other league suits should at this very moment be doing tequila shots, toasting the fact that the game was a rout because if it had been close, the screaming would still be echoing in the back alleys of Tijuana. The tone was set on an early kick-off return when the officials, so emasculated by instant replay that they seldom make a definitive call anymore, overlooked an obvious down-by-contact situation and forced a challenge by the Bucs. (The incident came seconds after a Budweiser ad mocking "zebras" and the replay process.) And when a ref finally stood his ground and stuck with a call, the force-out on the final Raiders two-point conversion, it was a) patently wrong and b) conveniently not reviewable. Other follies: A throw sails well out of bounds, yet pass interference is called; Rice is sent flying out of bounds on the Raiders' last-gasp drive, yet the refs keep the clock rolling. So much for the commish's new strict standards on officiating.

When the casual sports fan is able to pick up mistakes in officiating with ease, and such was certainly the case yesterday, you know things are looking grim.

Posted in Football by Eric McErlain | No Comments »

 
January 26th, 2003

A New Kind Of Negative Recruiting

Greg Sandoval of the Washington Post had a piece in Friday's paper that's uncovered a disturbing trend in recruitment in women's college basketball:

As women's college basketball has grown -- attendance for a single season recently passed 9 million -- so too has negative recruiting, a practice previously associated with the men's game. By implying that a rival coach is gay, opposing schools are preying on what Helen Carroll, athletic diversity specialist for the San Francisco-based National Center for Lesbian Rights, calls the fear of a gay "boogeywoman" who will make their daughters choose a lesbian sexual orientation.

First of all, let's give the Post's Sports section some deserved applause for running this story. The section has never shied away from stories that deal with tricky issues, and this is just another example. Credit Sports Editor George Solomon for fostering an atmosphere that allows reporting like this to go on.

But as in many other cases, there's a story behind the story -- one that you need to keep reading deeper into the piece in order to find. A few paragraphs later, you do:

The NCAA, the governing body for intercollegiate athletics, is studying whether homophobia is a reason for the shrinking number of female coaches, according to Rosie Stallman, the NCAA's director of education outreach. According to figures released by the NCAA, 79 percent of women's basketball head coaches were female in 1977, compared with 63 percent in 2002. For all women's sports, female coaches are at an all-time low, holding only 44 percent of head coaching positions.

"We are looking into whether homophobia is a reason causing women not to go into the coaching profession," Stallman said. "It's a real concern for us."

As ridiculous as this new aspect of negative recruiting may be, we should think twice before accepting this second claim at face value. Here's an alternate theory: As women's college basketball has gotten more popular, coaching in the women's game has become a more attractive alternative for male coaches. In turn, these coaches have begun to apply for jobs in the women's game in higher numbers -- something which has inevitably swelled their numbers.

Which brings us to a back story in the gender wars in college athletics that doesn't get quite so much attention. Because while most of the ink spilled about Title IX has concerned the ratio between male and female athletes, we need to remember that they only pass through the system once.

The folks who draw a paycheck working in college athletics are a different story.

If anything, what this piece tells me is that Title IX was seen as much as a way to increase the numbers of female coaches and administrators as it was ever about creating equal opportunity for female athletes. Now, that the numbers are showing that those pesky men are finding their way into coaching positions that were once seen as the exclusive domain of women, it's time to raise the alarm.

I think this story is just the first indication of a push we're going to see in college athletic departments to make sure that coaching positions are equally split between men and women. And the easiest way to acheive this balance will be to reserve coaching slots in men's sports for men, and coaching slots in women's sports for women.

Posted in Basketball by Eric McErlain | 1 Comment »

 
January 25th, 2003

Consternation Over Those Williams Sisters

In the early morning hours today, Serena Williams won the Australian Open over her big sister Venus, 7-6, 3-6, 6-4. That would complete what some tennis obervers are calling a "Serena Slam," in that she is now the defending champion in all of her sports four major championships (U.S. Open, French Open, and Wimbledon being the others). Traditionally, an individual is only known to have completed the "Grand Slam" if they win all four in the same calendar year.

The whole thing seems to have Dan Lewis a little upset:

I don't mean to take anything away from Serena Williams' fourth straight major, but it shouldn't be called anything other than that. "Serena Slam" is insulting to Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf, both of whom pulled off similar feats. (Graf's is exactly the same, winning the French, Wimbledon, and US in one year, and capping it with the Down Under the next.) The name "Serena Slam" implies more than it should.

Driving about an hour West of Dan, we run into Jason at Stick and Move, who's got a bone to pick with the sisters Williams in this post from just before the final:

Do you think Venus will really stand in the way of the "Serena Slam?" Of course not. And therein lies the problem with the Williams sisters. As dominant as they are, they'll always be dogged by suspicion of collusion. Daddy Williams doesn't help matters either.

Tiger is electric. The Williams sisters are monolithic and insidious. Is it any wonder I root for Capriati?

To which Skip Oliva responds:

As for the charge that the sisters' dominance is "monolithic," I would just say this: Tiger remains exciting only because the other players on Tour are starting to challenge him. The same can't be said for the WTA Tour, whose members would rather bitch to the press than do the work to kick Venus & Serena's butts.

Amen, brother!

UPDATE: Tom Maguire reminds us that it was Steffi Graf who completed the "Golden Slam" in 1988 -- all four majors in the same calendar year combined with a Gold Medal in the Summer Olympics. Tom also sent the link to this story where Oracene Price, the mother of the Williams sisters, went public with some of her feelings about fan reaction to her daughters' dominance of the women's game:

"They don't need women showing so much strength or how powerful they can be or how they can think."

Price said she believed there was also a racial component at work, suggesting that there were no complaints when Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert dominated women's tennis to much the same degree as her daughters do now.

"I don't quite understand that, because I've seen in the past with the same people getting into the same position, and it wasn't that big an issue," she said of public resistance to the prospect of all-Williams finals.

"I don't know really what the deal on that is: I guess it's because the environment of tennis has mostly been white. Especially over here in a culture where you see that people have conquered other people who were indigenous to this country. And the same thing in the United States. And I think it's a bit of arrogance, more or less: who has to be on top and who has to be on the bottom."

Meanwhile, over at Fenian Ramblings, my buddy Terry McMenamin says I ignored Andre Agassi's win on the men's side in the Australian to focus exclusively on the Williams sisters. Point taken. But as great as Agassi's win was, I just can't get revved up about the men's game. The stories on the women's side are just far more compelling -- a balance that's going to be thrown further out of whack now that Agassi's wife, Steffi Graf, has decided to come out of retirement to play mixed doubles with him.

Posted in Tennis by Eric McErlain | 1 Comment »

 
January 24th, 2003

Oh, How The Mighty Have Fallen

Just a week after Dan Bickley's series in the Arizona Republic concerning the real physical toll of playing in the NFL, it feels fitting to come across this piece from Shaun Assael in ESPN: The Magazine that recounts the first, and last, contest to determine the NFL's Strongest Man.

Let's go back to that day now, April 18, 1980:

Come peek behind the curtain, as the contestants game-face each other in the changing room. Three of them are Steelers -- Mike Webster, Jon Kolb, Steve Furness -- and gods to this crowd. They were the butt of jokes when they started pumping iron in the boiler room of Three Rivers Stadium. But they've won four of the last six Super Bowls, so who's laughing now? Over there is Bob Young, whose Cardinals uniform is on the event poster that hangs in the local coffee shop. At 37, he's the league's oldest lineman, the great hope of graying players. The guy wrapping his wrists next to him is his lesser-known linemate, Terry Stieve. And those three in the corner: Lyle Alzado, Joe DeLamielleure, and Joe Klecko? Each of these stars is the strongest in his locker room.

Talk about right place, right time. Reality TV is being born, on the sets of contrived sports shows like this one, not to mention cheesier relatives like Battle of the Network Stars. And what started a decade ago, with Broadway Joe, has trickled down. Every first-stringer with good cheekbones has an agent, and thanks to Pumping Iron, which has just made Arnold a star, Hollywood is rushing to cash in. (Klecko is just back from filming a cameo in the next Burt Reynolds flick, Smokey and the Bandit II.)

But this CBS Sports Spectacular isn't your typical afternoon filler. The guys here are pioneers. Soon, gyms will blossom into training complexes. Workout incentives will fatten contracts. Linemen will lug the weight of a first-grader in extra muscle. The (fore)arms race is heating up. That's one reason Strongest Man in Football will matter in 2003. Another? Half the eight men you're sneaking a peek at will be dead.

The piece is first rate, walking us through what happened that day, and the fates of the four men who don't walk the earth with us today. Just one thing: it's ironic to see a piece like this that deals with the issue of steroid abuse running in ESPN's house organ. This, when ESPN is making plenty of money now that it's the home to the "World's Strongest Man" franchise now.

Posted in Football by Eric McErlain | No Comments »

 
January 24th, 2003

A Calculated Risk In The NHL

As I noted a few weeks ago when a freakish accident cost an NHL player a slice of his ear, it's a common occurence for hockey players to sacrifice on-ice safety for the sake of comfort and convenience, something that Chris Stevenson has taken note of over at ESPN.com.

Here's what Mike Barnett, GM of the Phoenix Coyotes and a former minor leaguer whose career was cut short due to an eye injury had to say about why so few players in the league wear protective visors:


"Every player that comes into our league now has worn some form of eye protection in his developmental years," said Barnett. "I agree 100 percent that it wouldn't be fair to make the veterans do it now, but my feeling is, grandfather those guys with a clause, the same way we did with helmets. If we do that, then 10-15 years from now, when there's a full turnover of bodies, you'd have a league with visors. I think that's the right thing to do.

"We repair breaks and tears and rips and stitch lacerations, but the one area of the body that is the most difficult to repair and the most career-threatening is the eyes."

But it only begins with visors, as players regularly refuse to wear mouthguards (something that would not only save teeth, but also cut down on the number of concussions), and tighten chin straps on their helmets.

Even Barnett's boss, Coyotes owner Wayne Gretzky, spent years in the league wearing a light-weight helmet that governing bodies in the U.S. and Canada wouldn't approve for use in ice hockey -- a helmet that the manufacturer stressed wasn't good for anything other than an occasional game of Broomball.

Posted in Hockey by Eric McErlain | No Comments »

 
January 24th, 2003

Ballot Stuffing In The Global Village

They announced the starting lineups for the NBA All-Star game yesterday, and it looks like Yao Ming is going to start at Center for the Western Conference as he defeated Shaquille O'Neal by 250,000 votes.

What the aforementioned AP dispatch fails to mention, however, is that this year was the first in which Chinese language ballots were collected electronically over the Internet. Bottom line: get used to seeing Yao as the All-Star starter at Center in whatever conference he's playing in for as long as he has a place on the ballot.

Posted in Basketball by Eric McErlain | No Comments »

 
January 24th, 2003

Odds And Ends

As per usual, blogger Steve MacLaughlin has plenty of cool stuff to peruse. First, he has another tidy roundup concerning the technical changes in the Formula 1 racing circuit. As far as I'm concerned, any change that means someone will have a reasonable chance of knocking off a Ferrari is fine by me. Steve, who's a media guy first and foremost, also has a nice preview about the advertising we can expect to see on Super Bowl Sunday. Please note, I'm still looking for a place to watch the big game, so if anyone has any suggestions, let me know.

Finally, Steve has a nice little piece about one of my favorite writers, P.J. O'Rourke. Stop by and read it all.

I was watching the 10th Anniverary edition DVD of Reservoir Dogs this week, and I was thinking: since Quentin Tarantino plays Mr. Brown in the movie, wouldn't it be funny if he did one of those "What Can Brown Do For You?" commercials for UPS?

How about, "What Can Mr. Brown Do For You?" Even better, for as those who saw the movie can recall, Mr. Brown drove the getaway car. I'm telling you, there are laughs to be had here.

Posted in Culture by Eric McErlain | 1 Comment »

 
January 23rd, 2003

MLB Relocation Panel To Hear D.C., Virginia, Next Week

Both the Washington Post and the Washington Times are reporting that delegations from the District and Northern Virginia are scheduled to meet with Major League Baseball's relocation committee next week in New York to discuss the possibility of getting the Montreal Expos. Here's a passage from Mark Asher's story in the Post that I thought was significant:

"This is an informal, preliminary meeting," said D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams, who will lead a delegation that includes one other elected official, city council chairman Linda W. Cropp. "It is in large part a let's-get-acquainted session. . . . This is going to be one of the highest priorities for our city, if not the highest priority."

Gov. Mark R. Warner (D) will be unable to attend on behalf of the Virginia Baseball Stadium Authority, a representative of the governor said yesterday. The Virginia delegation is expected to be named by Friday.

Portland's delegation will be led by recently elected Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D) and Mayor Vera Katz (D).

So Governor Warner won't be attending -- and that's bad news for Virginia's bid. While I'm sure they'll be involved up until the end as a contender on paper, you can kiss the chance that the Expos will end up in Virginia goodbye.

Sure, I know there's a General Assembly session going on in Richmond right now, but if Warner were serious about wanting a team in Virginia, and was serious about committing the state's resources to getting it done, he would have found a way to get to New York next week.

From here on in, the real competition for the Expos might just come from Portland -- a group that's sending a delegation that includes the mayor of Portland and the governor of Oregon.

Posted in Baseball, Business, Politics by Eric McErlain | No Comments »

 
January 23rd, 2003

For Theo, The Other Shoe Drops

Like a lot of other hockey fans, I wanted Theo Fleury's return to the NHL after a battle with substance abuse to be a successful one. Hockey is more fun with a Fleury that is running and gunning his way through the NHL. But now, news out of Columbus, Ohio seems to indicate that it isn't going to be that way:

Sgt. Brent Mull, spokesman for the Columbus, Ohio police department, said officers received a call from an attendant at a gas station across the street from the Pure Platinum strip club about 4:45 a.m. EST Sunday. A group of men had used a pay phone at the station to call a cab, and Mull said the attendant was concerned because one of the men looked as if he'd been assaulted.

The cab was gone by the time the police showed up, but another officer, Jason Gunther, saw the cab and stopped it.

"Sure enough, those were the people the attendant had called about," Mull said.

According to Gunther's report, Fleury was "intoxicated" and said he'd been "hit several times by about nine bouncers" at the strip club. He refused medical attention for a cut above his left eye, and refused to give his address or phone number, though he did tell Gunther he played for the Blackhawks.

The other people with Fleury -- Mull said there were two or three -- refused to be identified.

"They said they didn't want any part of it because they were famous and they didn't want any publicity," Mull said.

No charges were filed. Mull said no sobriety tests were done because Fleury wasn't driving.

"I had the opportunity to speak to my teammates today. As far as I'm concerned that's who I'm responsible to," Fleury said. "It's unfortunate the things that happened, but today's a new day and I'm just going to continue to go forward from here."

Fleury met with Chicago Blackhawks General Manager Mike Smith to discuss the incident yesterday, but neither he nor the team had any comment. If Fleury indeed was drunk, it would mark another violation of his after care agreement, the second since the diminutive winger signed a two-year $8.5 million contract with the club during the offseason. His first misstep with the team came during training camp in September, and as a result of the suspension that followed, Fleury didn't hit the ice this year until December.

Besides the money, the team has also invested in hiring one of Fleury's close friends to serve as a 24-hour a day personal chaperone. Something tells me he'll be looking for work soon.

Whether or not Fleury will be is another question, as I have to wonder how much longer the Blackhawks will keep putting up with his antics.

UPDATE: The Blackhawks say Fleury won't be suspended, the matter will be handled internally. Whether that's what's best for Fleury or the team is another matter entirely.

Posted in Hockey by Eric McErlain | 1 Comment »

 
January 23rd, 2003

The Super Bowl Through The Eyes Of The Guardian

As in the unofficial house organ of Britain's hysterical Left. Here's what the paper's Matthew Engel had to say about Sunday's game in an edition published earlier today in Britain:

Every major national sporting event is in some sense a reflection of the country's character, but there is nothing quite so in-your-face about it as the Super Bowl, the apogee of Americanism. Part of this is very obvious indeed: there is the obsession with both violence and money, and the exploitative eroticism represented by the cheerleaders.

I'm sure this weekend is a marked contrast to what Engel is used to seeing on his home shores. After all, while Americans might glorify violence on the football field, it's a far sight better than the actual participatory violence served up by the typical English Soccer hooligan. Then again, what can we really expect from a nation laboring under such a horrible combination of sexual repression, unremitting class warfare, and silly moral preening?

There, I feel better now.

Posted in Football by Eric McErlain | 1 Comment »

 
January 23rd, 2003

If Your Team Loses Sunday. . .

According to a report in the most recent edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers have found that the city of the team that loses the Super Bowl experiences an immediate jump in the number of fatal car crashes. As tomorrow's Atlanta Journal Constitution will report:

Researchers found that the average number of fatal car crashes spiked 41 percent after the game. In states with the losing team, the average number of non-fatal crashes increased 68 percent after the telecast ended, while non-fatal accidents rose only 6 percent in the winner's state. Accidents climbed 46 percent in all other states.

The Toronto researchers examined U.S. accident data from 27 Super Bowls. Super Bowl Sundays were compared with adjacent Sundays when conditions were likely to be the same.

A surge in deaths was seen in 21 of the 27 years studied and was largest in the first hour after the telecast ended. There was no shift in the rate of accidents before the kickoff, but a slight decrease during the game.

The study suggests that this Sunday, when Tampa Bay meets Oakland in San Diego, there will be 1,300 more car crashes, 600 more injuries and seven more deaths than on an average Sunday night.

Further, it seems that the only days on the road more dangerous than Super Sunday are St Patrick's Day and the Fourth of July.

Posted in Football by Eric McErlain | No Comments »

 
January 23rd, 2003

PETCO? ARE YOU SERIOUS?

Something tells me it's only a matter of time before somebody comes up with a creative way to ridicule this stadium naming rights deal:

The San Diego Padres' new ballpark will be called PETCO Park after the pet supply company agreed Wednesday to a naming rights deal reportedly worth more than $60 million over 22 years.

PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc., is a nationwide retailer of pet supplies that was founded in San Diego in 1965.

The ballpark is scheduled to be completed by opening day 2004.

Only about 14 months to come up with the best put down of this deal. Get to work!

UPDATE: To give you a little encouragement, here's a few examples. Here in Washington, some people call the MCI Center the "phone booth." At times, the Molson Center in Montreal has been called the "keg."

Hence, the new ballpark in San Diego might be called: "the litter box," or perhaps, "the bird cage," or even "the dog house." Feel free to jump in at any time.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Looks like the folks at PETA have a problem with this deal -- which may be more than enough to get me to change my mind in favor.

Posted in Baseball, Business by Eric McErlain | 4 Comments »

 
January 22nd, 2003

How Much For A Ticket To L.A.?

Why is it that whenever I read anything over at Sports by Brooks, I get the feeling that life is a lot more fun out in So Cal?

Current Washington, D.C. temperature: 20F, 4F (wind chill).

Current L.A. temperature: 59F, 61F (feels like).

Posted in Media by Eric McErlain | 2 Comments »

 
January 22nd, 2003

Boswell’s “Free Lunch”

Over at the Washington Times editorial page, somebody felt it was time to throw some cold water on the idea of bringing a baseball team back to Washington, D.C. -- and the target of their ire is Washington Post columnist Tom Boswell, and in particular his column from last Friday where he soft soaped the tax increases that would be needed in order to pay for a new baseball park:

To hear sports columnist Thomas Boswell tell it, economist Milton Friedman, a Nobel laureate, got it all wrong.

Mr. Friedman, who has been studying economics for nearly three-quarters of a century, has famously quipped: "There is no such thing as a free lunch." In his Friday column in The Washington Post, however, Mr. Boswell essentially claims to have found the very free lunch that has eluded Mr. Friedman for decades.

Mr. Boswell waxes enthusiastically about how the financially strapped District can rather easily underwrite a substantial portion of the costs of a state-of-the-art ballpark to entice the Montreal baseball franchise to the nation's capital.

Depending upon its location, the ballpark could cost nearly $550 million and, in other cities, the public has generally borne 50 percent to 75 percent of the cost, Mr. Boswell says. Never mind that underneath Mr. Boswell's own nose, Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke and Wizards/Capitals owner Abe Pollin built their sports palaces with their own money, accepting only infrastructure improvements that were appropriately financed with public funds.

The only taxes that would need to be raised, Mr. Boswell says, are those "taxes related to baseball, which would not exist unless baseball came to town." (We could not have said it better.)

Whether you agree or disagree with the Times (and this free market sports fan agrees), it does point up the fact that the Post has more or less been an uncritical booster of the effort to bring a team to the District of Columbia.

For some time now, I've completely discounted the chance of the Expos moving to Virginia for just one reason: I can't fathom any way how Virginia Governor Mark Warner could justify diverting public monies to build a stadium and the related infrastructure required to support it while the state is facing a significant budgetary shortfall. Politically, it's a non-starter as well, as Warner would be sure to come under withering attack from Republicans in the state legislature.

Unfrotunately for the folks in the District, the tradition of fiscal responsibility so firmly entrenched in Virginia simply doesn't exist there. That's good news if you want a baseball team here; but potentially bad news if you're a taxpayer.

POSTSCRIPT: For future reference, you can find the Post's special online section on the quest to bring baseball back to Washington by clicking here. Though the Times doesn't have their own special section, here's a link to a search in their archives on the terms, "Washington Baseball."

Posted in Baseball by Eric McErlain | No Comments »

 
January 22nd, 2003

Rose Ready To Admit To Gambling

Over at Long Island's Newsday, baseball writer John Heyman has scored the scoop of the day:

Pete Rose has indicated to baseball commissioner Bud Selig that he's willing for the first time to admit he bet on baseball, apologize for denying it the past 13 years and even to serve a probationary period, according to a friend of the all-time hit king.

Rose's new conciliatory stance during negotiations sets the stage for his reinstatement to the game and likely paves the way for his entrance into the Hall of Fame next year, providing the voters can forgive quicker than he apologized.

Rose's friend, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Rose is encouraged by progress in talks among Selig, Rose's lawyers and current Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt, Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan and is confident an agreement can be finalized and announced within a couple months that would allow Rose to be reinstated in full, meaning he'd be permitted to work in baseball, as well as enter baseball's shrine in Cooperstown.

I don't like one part of this compromise. As I've said before, Rose and his career are part of baseball history, and deserve a place in the Hall of Fame. Were the baseball writers to vote him in to Cooperstown now, I'd have little complaint (though his plaque should rightly mention why he was banished from the game he loved for so long). What does bother me is that Rose would be allowed to work inside Major League Baseball (MLB) again -- something that should give everyone who really cares about the game some pause.

I'm all for Rose showing up for Old Timers Day in Cincinnnati, or any other ballpark for that matter. I'm all for him being honored for his accomplishments as part of commemerations sponsored by MLB, such as was the case during the World Series last Fall. But what I don't want to see is an individual who has been so compromised by his contacts outside the game, that he might be vulnerable to some sort of blackmail in the future. And if anyone believes a 6-8 month probationary period is enough, I'm afraid they have another thing coming.

When it comes to Rose, I think former Baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent put it best in a piece that ran a few weeks ago:

The Rose case is not about what is best or fair for Peter Edward Rose. The vital issue is what is best for baseball. The commissioner must act in the best interests of the game. Gambling on baseball by baseball personnel undermines the sport. The deterrent, the risk of lifetime banishment, works. Everyone in baseball knows with certainty that betting on a game in which you have an interest will lead to a lifetime ban. To dilute that deeply felt fear the present commissioner must conclude that all previous commissioners were wrong. After all, none of us was willing to reinstate Shoeless Joe Jackson.

Mr. Rose can be very likable. I remember when he came into our first meeting to discuss the gambling allegations. He arrived in a shiny green suit, and he charmed us. The public loved his headfirst game and, if the polls can be believed, overwhelmingly support his reinstatement bid today. They believe, as Mr. Rose has argued, that he has suffered enough and that he deserves another chance. Another chance to do what? To earn the seven-figure salaries managers receive today?

One last time. Hall of Fame: yes. Eligible to work in MLB: no.

Posted in Baseball by Eric McErlain | No Comments »

 
January 22nd, 2003

Super Pick

Since waiting until game day gets you accused of falsifying timestamps, I'll just make my pick for the Super Bowl right now: it's going to be Tampa Bay. I'm an unabashed fan of Jon Gruden, and like the idea that he may know the Raiders better than they know themselves. If there is anyone in the universe who might have an inkling of how to stop the Raiders, it's Gruden.

On the other hand, Tampa Bay's offense, and quarterback Brad Johnson, are vastly underrated. They might not measure up to the Raiders on that side of the ball, but they're more than good enough to get the job done. Sorry Raider Nation, Gruden gets to prove that he's worth every dollar, and every draft pick, the Glazer family gave up for him.

Posted in Football by Eric McErlain | No Comments »

 
January 22nd, 2003

Super Dreams For A Scot

Here's a story from San Diego you might not pick up in the U.S. press -- a story about how the dream of playing in the Super Bowl isn't limited to kids in North America anymore:

TIME was when the childhood ambition of any Scottish kid was to run out on the hallowed Hampden turf, nip down the wing and fire a winning strike into the net. Mark Squire picked a different dream, and in San Diego this week the Edinburgh-born wide receiver will be but a long punt away from his personal fantasy land of Super Bowl XXXVII.

While the Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are warming up for Sunday

Posted in Football by Eric McErlain | No Comments »

 
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