I was asked a few times this week why I'm doing this. Simply put, back when I was single and in my 20's, I would spend a couple hours a week at sports bars hanging around talking sports. I don't get that opportunity anymore, hence this has become my "electronic" sports bar. So there you have it......
I'm still scrambling around trying to finish all my Christmas shopping, so just some quick thoughts this week.
1) Baseball - To many signings to cover all of them, so just some major ones.
a) Pedro - As I mentioned in my article on 11/7, I didn't want the Red Sox to pay over $36 million for him, so I have no problem with him signing with the Mets. I think they overpaid. If I was Pedro I would have taken the money also (a reported 4yrs, $53 million), so I wish him well, and thank him for the past 7yrs, it was great. HOWEVAAAA (as always in my best Stephan A. Smith voice), I do think he's acting like a whiny little baby with all his comments about Boston not respecting him....... they offered him a fair contract, he took another deal, be done with it. Good luck, and don't blow out your shoulder in 2 years.......
b) Beltre and Sexson to the Mariners - I like this deal. Seattle just upgraded their team tremendously. Although Beltre has just had the one big year last year, I do think he's for real, and barring injury, will be worth the money spent. Sexson has a ton of ability, and will also prove valuable. The one problem now with Seattle is they currently have so little pitching I just don't see them competing with the Angels in the West.
c) Wells, Clement and Renteria to the Red Sox - I like all these deals. For all the talk about Wells and his weight and age, the man has been tremendously durable over his career. They need him to be the #3 starter (replacing Lowe), and I feel he's an upgrade there. Clement they need to be a #2 starter. Boston's #2 guy last year put up these numbers: 16-9, 3.90 era. Clement, in 30 starts for the Cubbies, was 9-13 with a 3.68 era. Hopefully, backed by one of the top run scoring teams in baseball, he'll put up the same type of numbers that Pedro did. Renteria is a superstar in the making, expect him to get more notoriety now that he's in a larger television market. The man can flat out play!
d) Orlando Cabrera and Steve Finley to the Angels - "The OC in OC". I mentioned this in my article on 11/7, that this deal had to happen. It was just too perfect a fit. Obviously I like the deal a lot. He's going to help them out big time defensively and with Finley in center, makes their lineup one of the most dangerous in baseball. Finley, who turns 40 on opening day, was one of the best off season signings in my opinion. I really like what he brings to the game (36 hrs, 94 rbi's, .271 batting avg, and Gold Glove defense). Watch out for the Angels this year as I think they've got it all.
e) J.D. Drew to the Dodgers - I know I'm jumping the gun on this as it's still being discussed as I type this, but I think its a good deal for them. I think his production will be similar to Beltre's and if the numbers I'm seeing are accurate, they're paying him about $9 million less than what it would have cost to keep Beltre..... All in all, I think it's a good fit.
f) Mulder to Cardinals, Hudson to Braves - My feeling is these are good deals all around. Yes, if I'm an A's fan, it sucks initially, but you weren't' going to be able to keep the big 3 together anyways, so you might as well pick up some big time prospects which you did... I'm a big fan of Billy Beane (highly recommend reading "Moneyball" if you haven't all ready), and enjoy watching him wheel and deal, so I'm looking forward to seeing how Oakland does this year. Besides, it not like you were able to get out of the 1st round with Zito, Mulder and Hudson, so you might as well try something different. As for the Cardinals and Braves, obviously they picked up number 1 starters, but they did have to give away some top minor league talent. They probably have a 3 year window to win the world series, lets see if they do it or not.
2) T.O. done and so are the Iggles - I think his injury really affects the NFC. From what I'm hearing, he has a slight chance of making it back if the Eagles make it to the SuperBowl, which at this point, I don't think will happen....... Who's the team I'm most impressed with right now? The Carolina Panthers. If (and that's a big if), they make the playoffs, I feel they can run the table like they did last year and win the NFC. I like their defense more than I like Phillys. I'm not a big Mike Vick fan, as I feel he's too erratic. He can lose a game for you, as easily as he can win it, and that doesn't work well in the playoffs. Anyway, my prediction is now Carolina coming out of the NFC. (I can't believe I just wrote that.....)
3) Shaq, Kobe on Christmas day- This is the first game in about 3 years I'm excited to watch and I'm actually going to Tivo it so I don't miss anything. I hope Shaq goes for 45 points, 19 rebounds and fouls out Mihm, Grant, and any other stiff the Lakers try to guard him with. You know Kobe will score about 48 (on 39 shots), as he trys to show that the Lakers can win without Shaq. Dwayne Wade will take over down the stretch, hitting some big baskets, and showing everyone that Miami is not just one player. Miami wins 105 to 99.
4) Suspension reduction - It just came out today that an arbitrator ruled to reduce the suspension of Jermaine O'Neal of the Pacers from 25 games to 15 games for the brawl that took place in Detroit on November 19th. I mentioned in my article on 11/25 that I agreed with the suspensions except that O'Neal should only get 10-15 games as he didn't go up into the stands. Apparently the arbitrator is a reader of "The Fifth"........... Also the NBA just announced they will protest the ruling in Federal Court (meeting to be held Thursday morning), so it will be interesting to follow what happens from here.
5) Soccer Trivia - The next time you're sitting around drinking a beer with a couple buddies, you can toss this out....... "Who was voted as soccer's player of the year for 2004?" Well the answer is Ronaldinho from Brazil. The 24 year old Brazilian plays for Barcelona in Spain, and is the 4th Barcelona player in the last 13 years to win the award. Maybe you can win a free drink or something with this knowledge!
Link of the Week - This was forwarded to me a couple weeks a go and I haven't been able to get it out of my head since http://www.czabe.com/audioclips/easterns_video.avi.wmv Lavar Arrington has now become my new favorite player just for this commercial...... I walk around all the time imitating him "Let Eastern Motors, finance it all the way....." (and of course doing the thumbs up) If anyone out there comes across any good links, please forward them along as I'm always looking for some good ones.
Well that's it for now. I hope everyone has a happy and safe Christmas, and if you come across any links or would like to send me a comment, please reach me here billtolman@hotmail.com
Until next time,
Bill
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Who's on the Goose? 12/16
Well ESPN has their "Budweiser Hot Seat", so I have to have my own interview segment and catchy phrase for it (and obviously it has to do with alcohol because this is "1/5th of Bill"). So in honor of my favorite alcohol, Grey Goose vodka, I present the first segment of "Who's on The Goose?" Hopefully I’ll have 1 or 2 of these a month to post. For my first interview I was fortunate to be able to sit down with former Major League pitcher Jeff Heathcock. Jeff was a pitcher with the Houston Astros throughout the 80's who career got shortened because of injuries. Jeff graciously took time out of his busy schedule to sit down with "The Fifth" and answer a couple questions;
Bill: Jeff, what are you doing nowadays?
Jeff: Well I'm a husband, still married after 21 years and father of an 11 year old son. I'm a field rep for Fannie Mae, cover five western states and in my spare time I do what I love, coach baseball.
Bill: What was the highlight from your baseball career?
Jeff: 1st major league win. 7 1/3 innings giving up one hit against San Francisco; 1st and only major league hit against the Reds (Pete Rose handed me the ball).
Bill: Biggest regret?
Jeff: Covering first base on a ball hit to the first baseman in my fourth start of the season 1984, Glenn Davis gave me a bad feed and I blew out my knee. I was never the same after that. I wish I would have had a brain cramp and forgot to cover that night!!
Bill: Best word of advice you ever got?
Jeff: Got a lot of advice over my career, some good and a whole lot of bad. Best piece of advice I got regarding baseball was my senior year in high school, I was pitching in a summer league game and the shortstop had just committed his third error of the inning. I was throwing a tantrum on the mound kicking the dirt, loosing my composure and making a fool of myself, when the coach, Dave Demerest came out and chewed my butt for what seemed to be forever. I remember the home plate umpire coming out to break up the meeting, realized what Coach was doing and turned around and went back to the plate. He explained to me that I needed to grow up and that the guy that made the errors already feels bad enough and I was making things worse. He told me that my job was to pitch, throw strikes and get ground balls and that was it, period. I think that moment changed my demeanor on and off the mound forever, throughout my career I was known as a guy that never got rattled and never lost his composure, period. Worst advice, a story for another time!
Bill: With so much attention right now on steroids, what percentage of ball players do you think are using them?
Jeff: Boy that's a tough question, I've been out of the game for quite sometime now, but I believe it's more than we want to know and I don't think it's just hitters but pitchers as well.
Bill: Concerning Barry Bonds, should an asterisk be put next to the records he’s set?
Jeff: Yes, and not for steroids but for that puss pad he wears on his elbow!
Bill: If you had a vote, would you put Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame?
Jeff: Yes! Not only best hitter I ever saw/played against, but a guy that played the game @ 110% all the time. I just wish he would have come clean from the beginning. I think if he had he would have been more easily forgiven.
Bill: Most feared hitter you ever faced?
Jeff: Jack Clark, Andre Dawson & Dave Parker, they hit ball extremely hard!
Bill: Best Manager you ever played for at any level?
Jeff: Fred Hoover @ Goldenwest College, he really taught me the game and a devastating slider. Best pitching coach, Jim Brewer @ Oral Roberts University. He taught me how to pitch along with the mental part of the game which intern kept me in the game long after I tore up my knee.
Bill: Nolan Ryan, Love him/hate him?
Jeff: Are you kidding? Loved him! He was one of my childhood heroes and I had the pleasure of playing with him in Houston. Great guy and an unbelievable competitor.
Thanks Jeff, I appreciate you taking the time to sit down with us. For appearing here on "The Goose", Jeff will be receiving a 1/5th of Grey Goose Vodka. Enjoy!
Bill
Bill: Jeff, what are you doing nowadays?
Jeff: Well I'm a husband, still married after 21 years and father of an 11 year old son. I'm a field rep for Fannie Mae, cover five western states and in my spare time I do what I love, coach baseball.
Bill: What was the highlight from your baseball career?
Jeff: 1st major league win. 7 1/3 innings giving up one hit against San Francisco; 1st and only major league hit against the Reds (Pete Rose handed me the ball).
Bill: Biggest regret?
Jeff: Covering first base on a ball hit to the first baseman in my fourth start of the season 1984, Glenn Davis gave me a bad feed and I blew out my knee. I was never the same after that. I wish I would have had a brain cramp and forgot to cover that night!!
Bill: Best word of advice you ever got?
Jeff: Got a lot of advice over my career, some good and a whole lot of bad. Best piece of advice I got regarding baseball was my senior year in high school, I was pitching in a summer league game and the shortstop had just committed his third error of the inning. I was throwing a tantrum on the mound kicking the dirt, loosing my composure and making a fool of myself, when the coach, Dave Demerest came out and chewed my butt for what seemed to be forever. I remember the home plate umpire coming out to break up the meeting, realized what Coach was doing and turned around and went back to the plate. He explained to me that I needed to grow up and that the guy that made the errors already feels bad enough and I was making things worse. He told me that my job was to pitch, throw strikes and get ground balls and that was it, period. I think that moment changed my demeanor on and off the mound forever, throughout my career I was known as a guy that never got rattled and never lost his composure, period. Worst advice, a story for another time!
Bill: With so much attention right now on steroids, what percentage of ball players do you think are using them?
Jeff: Boy that's a tough question, I've been out of the game for quite sometime now, but I believe it's more than we want to know and I don't think it's just hitters but pitchers as well.
Bill: Concerning Barry Bonds, should an asterisk be put next to the records he’s set?
Jeff: Yes, and not for steroids but for that puss pad he wears on his elbow!
Bill: If you had a vote, would you put Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame?
Jeff: Yes! Not only best hitter I ever saw/played against, but a guy that played the game @ 110% all the time. I just wish he would have come clean from the beginning. I think if he had he would have been more easily forgiven.
Bill: Most feared hitter you ever faced?
Jeff: Jack Clark, Andre Dawson & Dave Parker, they hit ball extremely hard!
Bill: Best Manager you ever played for at any level?
Jeff: Fred Hoover @ Goldenwest College, he really taught me the game and a devastating slider. Best pitching coach, Jim Brewer @ Oral Roberts University. He taught me how to pitch along with the mental part of the game which intern kept me in the game long after I tore up my knee.
Bill: Nolan Ryan, Love him/hate him?
Jeff: Are you kidding? Loved him! He was one of my childhood heroes and I had the pleasure of playing with him in Houston. Great guy and an unbelievable competitor.
Thanks Jeff, I appreciate you taking the time to sit down with us. For appearing here on "The Goose", Jeff will be receiving a 1/5th of Grey Goose Vodka. Enjoy!
Bill
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Hunting Little Mexican Girls - 12/15
Another week of Sports, Quotes, Entertainment and Disruption in Laker Land. I love it!
Here we go-
1) Heisman Trophy - Well guess what, I was wrong! I thought it would come down to a tight race between Leinert and White, but Leinert ran away with it. Good for him. Seems like a good kid and obviously had a great season. One thing I've got to say though is dude needs a new haircut, because the one he has now.......... DAMN! ( http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/football/ncaa/12/11/bc.fbc.heismantrophy.ap/?cnn=yes) I must have missed the memo about Jiri Curl being back in......
2) Man U update - Yes I know, soccer, but I can't resist. Have to update you with the Malcom Glazer take over attempt (see my "Grumblings" thread on 11/15). It's gotten so bad now with the fans, that on some of the fan websites, they're encouraging supporters to sabotage the holiday party of Glazer's Baltimore-based PR agency and to make false reservations under the agency's name at Baltimore restaurants. The fans used similar tactics to get an English PR firm to resign its services to Glazer in November. The 5th is aghast that such acts of hooliganism are invading our shores. Somebody should toss a beer at these louts to show them how to behave.....
3) Kobe/Malone - Raise your hand out there if Kobe is NOT mad at you.......... Unbelievable the soap opera his life has become. Concerning the lastest incident, I'm not saying Malones comments were appropriate, but if he's spent time with Vanessa (Malone and Bryant live 6 houses away from each other, and apparently their families have been hanging out together), I could understand how he might jokingly make the comment he did. I highly doubt he was hitting on her and trying to take her home or anything. Mr. and Mrs Bryant sound like a couple of young kids (which they are), and need to lighten up a bit. Speaking of Kobe, can you remember a player in recent memory (in any sport), who has as much influence over an organization as he does??? Jordan never had this kind of power, nor Gretzky or Magic, Bird, or anyone I can think of. What sort of photos does he have of Buss and Kupchack? About the only way now to bring harmony back to Kobe and the Lakers is have Dyan Cannon give up her seats to Lindsay Lohan.......
4) "Baseball has been very, very good to me" - That has got to be what all these players are saying. Unbelievable when you look at the amount of money these guys are making. It's amazing in todays market, where if a team signs a pitcher for under $10 million dollars, it's considered "a bargain". Lets take a look at what some players signed for:
a) Petey - 4yrs, $52 million
b) Troy Glaus - 4yrs, $45 million
c) Jaret Wright - 3yrs, $21 million
d) Carl Pavano - 4yrs, $40 million
e) Russ Ortiz - 4yrs, $33 million
f) Edgar Renteria - 4yrs, 40 million
g) Richie Sexson - 4yrs, $48 milli0n
I'll do a separate article later in the month with my opinion of the winners and losers but it's interesting to see how every team thinks every acquisition is a gem at the time. With the Skankee's signing Pavano, one New York writer approved the move by writing that Pavano is "much better than (Javier) Vazquez." That's mostly due to Vazquez's so-so 2004 season in pinstripes, including a lousy postseason (1-0, 9.53 ERA). Pavano, meanwhile, was 18-8 with a 3.00 ERA for the Marlins last season and pitched well (2-0, 1.40 ERA) in the 2003 postseason. But let's look at the player the Yanks were getting at the time of each acquisition. Last year, the Yanks signed Vazquez when he was 27, with a career record of 64-68 with a 4.16 ERA and coming off a good year (13-12, 3.24 ERA) for the subpar Expos. Pavano? He'll turn 29 next month and has a career record of 57-58 with a 4.21 ERA. He has also pitched for the Expos, compiling a 23-35 record as Vazquez's teammate from 1998-2002. It'll be interesting to follow Pavano and see how his numbers match up with Vazquez this year. I do like both guys but feel Vazquez is better.
5) Love Em/ Hate Em - Last week I asked about Mark Cuban and 70% of you said you Loved Him. This week with Kobe being front and center, I have to ask about him. I know alot of you are big Laker fans, so let me know, Kobe Bryant, Love Him or Hate Him? Being a BIG Celtics fan to begin with, you can probably guess how I'll vote. You can click on the comment button at the end of this article to vote, or send it in an email to me here billtolman@hotmail.com
Link of the week - http://www.carllewis.com/video.music.1.html where can I pick up a workout outfit like that??? I'm sure I'd be really popular if I showed up at my local LA Fitness looking like that. Come on everyone now, "Let's all Work Together, You Can't Win On Your Own....." And to think I idolized this guy at one time.........
That's it for now, but be sure to check back tomorrow as I'll be unveiling a new feature called "Who's On The Goose?"
Until then,
Bill
Here we go-
1) Heisman Trophy - Well guess what, I was wrong! I thought it would come down to a tight race between Leinert and White, but Leinert ran away with it. Good for him. Seems like a good kid and obviously had a great season. One thing I've got to say though is dude needs a new haircut, because the one he has now.......... DAMN! ( http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/football/ncaa/12/11/bc.fbc.heismantrophy.ap/?cnn=yes) I must have missed the memo about Jiri Curl being back in......
2) Man U update - Yes I know, soccer, but I can't resist. Have to update you with the Malcom Glazer take over attempt (see my "Grumblings" thread on 11/15). It's gotten so bad now with the fans, that on some of the fan websites, they're encouraging supporters to sabotage the holiday party of Glazer's Baltimore-based PR agency and to make false reservations under the agency's name at Baltimore restaurants. The fans used similar tactics to get an English PR firm to resign its services to Glazer in November. The 5th is aghast that such acts of hooliganism are invading our shores. Somebody should toss a beer at these louts to show them how to behave.....
3) Kobe/Malone - Raise your hand out there if Kobe is NOT mad at you.......... Unbelievable the soap opera his life has become. Concerning the lastest incident, I'm not saying Malones comments were appropriate, but if he's spent time with Vanessa (Malone and Bryant live 6 houses away from each other, and apparently their families have been hanging out together), I could understand how he might jokingly make the comment he did. I highly doubt he was hitting on her and trying to take her home or anything. Mr. and Mrs Bryant sound like a couple of young kids (which they are), and need to lighten up a bit. Speaking of Kobe, can you remember a player in recent memory (in any sport), who has as much influence over an organization as he does??? Jordan never had this kind of power, nor Gretzky or Magic, Bird, or anyone I can think of. What sort of photos does he have of Buss and Kupchack? About the only way now to bring harmony back to Kobe and the Lakers is have Dyan Cannon give up her seats to Lindsay Lohan.......
4) "Baseball has been very, very good to me" - That has got to be what all these players are saying. Unbelievable when you look at the amount of money these guys are making. It's amazing in todays market, where if a team signs a pitcher for under $10 million dollars, it's considered "a bargain". Lets take a look at what some players signed for:
a) Petey - 4yrs, $52 million
b) Troy Glaus - 4yrs, $45 million
c) Jaret Wright - 3yrs, $21 million
d) Carl Pavano - 4yrs, $40 million
e) Russ Ortiz - 4yrs, $33 million
f) Edgar Renteria - 4yrs, 40 million
g) Richie Sexson - 4yrs, $48 milli0n
I'll do a separate article later in the month with my opinion of the winners and losers but it's interesting to see how every team thinks every acquisition is a gem at the time. With the Skankee's signing Pavano, one New York writer approved the move by writing that Pavano is "much better than (Javier) Vazquez." That's mostly due to Vazquez's so-so 2004 season in pinstripes, including a lousy postseason (1-0, 9.53 ERA). Pavano, meanwhile, was 18-8 with a 3.00 ERA for the Marlins last season and pitched well (2-0, 1.40 ERA) in the 2003 postseason. But let's look at the player the Yanks were getting at the time of each acquisition. Last year, the Yanks signed Vazquez when he was 27, with a career record of 64-68 with a 4.16 ERA and coming off a good year (13-12, 3.24 ERA) for the subpar Expos. Pavano? He'll turn 29 next month and has a career record of 57-58 with a 4.21 ERA. He has also pitched for the Expos, compiling a 23-35 record as Vazquez's teammate from 1998-2002. It'll be interesting to follow Pavano and see how his numbers match up with Vazquez this year. I do like both guys but feel Vazquez is better.
5) Love Em/ Hate Em - Last week I asked about Mark Cuban and 70% of you said you Loved Him. This week with Kobe being front and center, I have to ask about him. I know alot of you are big Laker fans, so let me know, Kobe Bryant, Love Him or Hate Him? Being a BIG Celtics fan to begin with, you can probably guess how I'll vote. You can click on the comment button at the end of this article to vote, or send it in an email to me here billtolman@hotmail.com
Link of the week - http://www.carllewis.com/video.music.1.html where can I pick up a workout outfit like that??? I'm sure I'd be really popular if I showed up at my local LA Fitness looking like that. Come on everyone now, "Let's all Work Together, You Can't Win On Your Own....." And to think I idolized this guy at one time.........
That's it for now, but be sure to check back tomorrow as I'll be unveiling a new feature called "Who's On The Goose?"
Until then,
Bill
Friday, December 10, 2004
Johnny Heisman - 12/10
I was always under the impression that the Heisman Trophy was a sculpture of John Heisman. Come to find out I was wrong. In a nutshell, the New York Down Town Athletic Club commissioned a sculptor to design a trophy of a player who is "a muscular footballer driving for yardage." The sculptor chose Ed Smith who was a top player on the 1934 New York University team.
The first year of the award (1934), it was called the DAC Award, and won by Jay Berwanger. Next year upon the death of John Heisman (who was the Athletic Director of the Down Town Athletic Club), they renamed the award "The Heisman Trophy".
One final bit of trivia. Other than the Heisman Award, what is John Heisman most recognized for? He is credited with inventing the forward pass.
For more information about the Heisman Trophy, click here http://heisman.collegesports.com/
I see the award this year coming down to a 2 man race between Jason White and Matt Leinert with White winning a close vote. If Leinert could of had a big day against UCLA last weekend, he would have taken it....
voting will finish in this order:
Jason White
Matt Leinert
Adrian Peterson
Alex Smith
Reggie Bush
Until next time,
Bill
The first year of the award (1934), it was called the DAC Award, and won by Jay Berwanger. Next year upon the death of John Heisman (who was the Athletic Director of the Down Town Athletic Club), they renamed the award "The Heisman Trophy".
One final bit of trivia. Other than the Heisman Award, what is John Heisman most recognized for? He is credited with inventing the forward pass.
For more information about the Heisman Trophy, click here http://heisman.collegesports.com/
I see the award this year coming down to a 2 man race between Jason White and Matt Leinert with White winning a close vote. If Leinert could of had a big day against UCLA last weekend, he would have taken it....
voting will finish in this order:
Jason White
Matt Leinert
Adrian Peterson
Alex Smith
Reggie Bush
Until next time,
Bill
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
"The Clear" and other cures for Arthritis - 12/08
Drugs, prostitutes and bowling. Sounds like a night in my college dorm room. But in this case, just another week of sports to cover in “The Fifth”.
Let’s get to it-
1) Steroid scandal: Steroids in sports? As Captain Renault said in Casablanca, "Rick, I’m shocked there’s gambling going on in this establishment. Just shocked!” (credit of quote goes to Peter King). Where to begin. Bonds must have known about the steroids. He is so conscious about what goes in his body, I have no doubt he knew. Because it’ll be tough to prove otherwise, I don’t feel the league can punish him. The public though, can and will turn on him, and I feel any good sentiments that people have had toward him have gone out the window. Every time he comes up to the plate now, he’ll be booed endlessly. Giambi is another issue. Because he admitted to injecting himself with HGH, the league is going to fine and suspend him. I don’t see how they can’t. They have to make an example of someone, and right now he’s got a big target painted on his back. Along with baseball we also have David Boston in football being suspended for steroids (shocking I know……..) and rumors swirling around track and field with Marion Jones being “outed”. I admit I’ve always been a big fan of hers so I’ve been following that closely. We’ll see what happens, and follow up as more details come out……. What famous athlete do you think will be next?
2) Denny Neagle – Pitcher for the Colorado Rockies, recovering from arm surgery, was arrested last week for soliciting a prostitute for oral sex (this while driving, lengthening the degree of difficulty… (thank you, thank you, I’ll be here all week, don’t forget to tip your waiters and waitress). A few days later, Neagle (who is married with a 4yr old son), was released from the remainder of his contract, which consisted of a $10 million dollar salary next year, plus a $9 million dollar option the following year). Hence, a $19 million dollar blow job! Hope it was worth it. The Rockies say he violated terms of the contract, and it is in their right to cancel. Obviously the players union will step in (as they always do) and protest, so I expect some settlement to come out of this…. I’m now going to play the part of Nostradamous and say that Misses Neagle will be receiving a $4 million dollar ring for Christmas! Ah, the Holiday Season. It’s all about giving!
3) Bowling – The college football bowl season is on us, and while it’s unfortunate for Auburn not to be playing for the National Championship, I do think the BCS got it right this year. USC and Oklahoma have played the best football throughout the season, and it should make for an exciting Orange bowl. Here are my predictions on the major bowls:
Orange Bowl – USC 37, Oklahoma 31 – an old fashioned shoot out.
Sugar Bowl – Auburn 43, Virginia Tech 17 – Auburn takes out frustration
Rose Bowl – Texas 17, Michigan 14 – Saving Mack Brown from being fired. And ruining my prediction of Butch Davies taking over!
Fiesta Bowl – Utah 31, Pittsburgh 17 – statement game for a mid major.
Liberty Bowl – Louisville 65, Boise State 48 – I wanted to throw this one in there as it’s a match up of the 2 top scoring offenses in the nation. Louisville is the best team you’ve never heard of. If it wasn’t for a dropped interception at the end of the game against Miami, they would be undefeated and playing in a BCS bowl instead of Utah. Just a lot of fun to watch. Other than the Orange Bowl, if you only watch one other Bowl, make it this one!
4) Blue / Gray Game – Staying along with college football here, when I was growing up I always enjoyed watching this bowl game on Christmas day. It was an all star game featuring seniors from college teams who weren’t playing in a bowl game (back then there were only about 5 bowls, not the 146 they have today…….). It gave these players one last chance to showcase their abilities before the NFL draft. It was always high scoring, and a lot of great players were there. With the advent of all these bowls now (not to mention scouting combines, agent camps, etc….) they’ve gone by the wayside, haven’t been able to come up with a sponsor and have cancelled it. It’s a shame as this game (and others like it, i.e., the Shrine Game), represented to me what college football was about. Players coming together, having fun, running trick plays and scoring a lot of points. Just enjoyable to watch. It had a hometown feel about it, as it was played in a small town in Mississippi, and everyone there got into it and participated in the event. Hopefully something can be worked out and they’ll be back next year.
5) Love Em/ Hate Em - Last weeks athlete was Peyton Manning and over 85% of you said you loved him. I guess I’m in the minority. This week I’m not going with a player but an Owner. Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks. As Jack from Will and Grace would say, “Love Him!”. I wish more owners would be like him. Is the team an investment for him? Yes. But at the same time he generally enjoys being out there and winning is the bottom line. He’ll spend the money that’s needed in order to put a winning product on the court. As a fan, you can’t ask for anymore than that. Here’s a link to his web log – http://www.blogmaverick.com/ Let me know, Love him or hate him.
Quote of the week – “You’d put in your ass!” classic quote by Jason Giambi this week when answering a question to where he’d inject steroids into his body. I’m sure they had fun with quote back in Boston!
Following up on a couple of my statements from previous columns. Calvin Murphy was found innocent this week by a jury of molesting his daughters (covered in my article from 11/15). They believed the prosecution in that it was a ploy in trying to get money from him. From my article on 11/07, I mentioned that Nomar would sign a 1 yr agreement with the Cubs, as the big money is not there for him right now. And lo and behold, that’s what he did yesterday signing a 1yr, $8 million dollar deal. For those of you who may not have followed what happened with him back when he was with the Red Sox, at one time Boston offered him a 4yr, $64 million dollar contract. He didn’t sign it because he felt the club was “disrespecting him”. He wanted a contract at least equal to Derek Jeter ($18 million a year). Boston then pulled the contract off the table. Later on, after his current injury, they offered him another contract at $12 million a year. Needless to say, he declined. Now he’s down to $8 million a year. Do you think he wished he signed the original contract??? How can he and Mia feed their family????????
Well that’s it for now. I’m working on a surprise for next week, so please be on the lookout for it.
Until later,
Bill
Let’s get to it-
1) Steroid scandal: Steroids in sports? As Captain Renault said in Casablanca, "Rick, I’m shocked there’s gambling going on in this establishment. Just shocked!” (credit of quote goes to Peter King). Where to begin. Bonds must have known about the steroids. He is so conscious about what goes in his body, I have no doubt he knew. Because it’ll be tough to prove otherwise, I don’t feel the league can punish him. The public though, can and will turn on him, and I feel any good sentiments that people have had toward him have gone out the window. Every time he comes up to the plate now, he’ll be booed endlessly. Giambi is another issue. Because he admitted to injecting himself with HGH, the league is going to fine and suspend him. I don’t see how they can’t. They have to make an example of someone, and right now he’s got a big target painted on his back. Along with baseball we also have David Boston in football being suspended for steroids (shocking I know……..) and rumors swirling around track and field with Marion Jones being “outed”. I admit I’ve always been a big fan of hers so I’ve been following that closely. We’ll see what happens, and follow up as more details come out……. What famous athlete do you think will be next?
2) Denny Neagle – Pitcher for the Colorado Rockies, recovering from arm surgery, was arrested last week for soliciting a prostitute for oral sex (this while driving, lengthening the degree of difficulty… (thank you, thank you, I’ll be here all week, don’t forget to tip your waiters and waitress). A few days later, Neagle (who is married with a 4yr old son), was released from the remainder of his contract, which consisted of a $10 million dollar salary next year, plus a $9 million dollar option the following year). Hence, a $19 million dollar blow job! Hope it was worth it. The Rockies say he violated terms of the contract, and it is in their right to cancel. Obviously the players union will step in (as they always do) and protest, so I expect some settlement to come out of this…. I’m now going to play the part of Nostradamous and say that Misses Neagle will be receiving a $4 million dollar ring for Christmas! Ah, the Holiday Season. It’s all about giving!
3) Bowling – The college football bowl season is on us, and while it’s unfortunate for Auburn not to be playing for the National Championship, I do think the BCS got it right this year. USC and Oklahoma have played the best football throughout the season, and it should make for an exciting Orange bowl. Here are my predictions on the major bowls:
Orange Bowl – USC 37, Oklahoma 31 – an old fashioned shoot out.
Sugar Bowl – Auburn 43, Virginia Tech 17 – Auburn takes out frustration
Rose Bowl – Texas 17, Michigan 14 – Saving Mack Brown from being fired. And ruining my prediction of Butch Davies taking over!
Fiesta Bowl – Utah 31, Pittsburgh 17 – statement game for a mid major.
Liberty Bowl – Louisville 65, Boise State 48 – I wanted to throw this one in there as it’s a match up of the 2 top scoring offenses in the nation. Louisville is the best team you’ve never heard of. If it wasn’t for a dropped interception at the end of the game against Miami, they would be undefeated and playing in a BCS bowl instead of Utah. Just a lot of fun to watch. Other than the Orange Bowl, if you only watch one other Bowl, make it this one!
4) Blue / Gray Game – Staying along with college football here, when I was growing up I always enjoyed watching this bowl game on Christmas day. It was an all star game featuring seniors from college teams who weren’t playing in a bowl game (back then there were only about 5 bowls, not the 146 they have today…….). It gave these players one last chance to showcase their abilities before the NFL draft. It was always high scoring, and a lot of great players were there. With the advent of all these bowls now (not to mention scouting combines, agent camps, etc….) they’ve gone by the wayside, haven’t been able to come up with a sponsor and have cancelled it. It’s a shame as this game (and others like it, i.e., the Shrine Game), represented to me what college football was about. Players coming together, having fun, running trick plays and scoring a lot of points. Just enjoyable to watch. It had a hometown feel about it, as it was played in a small town in Mississippi, and everyone there got into it and participated in the event. Hopefully something can be worked out and they’ll be back next year.
5) Love Em/ Hate Em - Last weeks athlete was Peyton Manning and over 85% of you said you loved him. I guess I’m in the minority. This week I’m not going with a player but an Owner. Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks. As Jack from Will and Grace would say, “Love Him!”. I wish more owners would be like him. Is the team an investment for him? Yes. But at the same time he generally enjoys being out there and winning is the bottom line. He’ll spend the money that’s needed in order to put a winning product on the court. As a fan, you can’t ask for anymore than that. Here’s a link to his web log – http://www.blogmaverick.com/ Let me know, Love him or hate him.
Quote of the week – “You’d put in your ass!” classic quote by Jason Giambi this week when answering a question to where he’d inject steroids into his body. I’m sure they had fun with quote back in Boston!
Following up on a couple of my statements from previous columns. Calvin Murphy was found innocent this week by a jury of molesting his daughters (covered in my article from 11/15). They believed the prosecution in that it was a ploy in trying to get money from him. From my article on 11/07, I mentioned that Nomar would sign a 1 yr agreement with the Cubs, as the big money is not there for him right now. And lo and behold, that’s what he did yesterday signing a 1yr, $8 million dollar deal. For those of you who may not have followed what happened with him back when he was with the Red Sox, at one time Boston offered him a 4yr, $64 million dollar contract. He didn’t sign it because he felt the club was “disrespecting him”. He wanted a contract at least equal to Derek Jeter ($18 million a year). Boston then pulled the contract off the table. Later on, after his current injury, they offered him another contract at $12 million a year. Needless to say, he declined. Now he’s down to $8 million a year. Do you think he wished he signed the original contract??? How can he and Mia feed their family????????
Well that’s it for now. I’m working on a surprise for next week, so please be on the lookout for it.
Until later,
Bill
Friday, December 03, 2004
Post Turkey 12/1/04
Once again spanning the globe to bring you a constant variety sports!
Hope everyone is enjoying all that left over turkey………… Here are some thoughts from the past week.
Notre Dame Football- I was all set to rip into them this week then they go and fire Willingham……… Hard to believe that such a storied program has become so meaningless. Did you know that the last time they won a bowl game was 1994, beating Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl? How about this….. Name the last skill position player drafted in the first round by the NFL from Notre Dame??? Waiting…… Waiting…………. Ok, It was Rick Mirer drafted by the Seahawks second overall in the 1993 draft (The Patriots selected Drew Bledsoe #1 overall that year). The big time high school players now have no reference of what Notre Dame football used to be. Do you think they know (or care) about Knute Rockne, The 4 Horseman, Paul Hornung, Joe Montana (ok, I’ll give them this one….) or Tim Brown (didn’t he play for the Raiders???)? The 18yr old athlete (born in the mid 80’s) now looks at programs like Miami, Southern Cal, Florida State, Oklahoma, Florida, etc…….. Those 5 schools represent most of the marquee (not to mention recent Heisman Trophy winners) players in the NFL today. For what ever reason Notre Dame cannot get the marquee players anymore. Hence, they are a mediocre program……….. Early word is current Utah head coach Urban Meyer (and former Notre Dame assistant) is the front runner to be offered the head coaching position.
Pro Football- I was asked this past week about Ricky Williams and why no mention of him…… What I said was basically he bores me….. No one is pointing a gun to his head to play football. Believe it or not Ricky, the NFL will go on without you. Go travel the world, smoke pot and enjoy your life…………… Oh by way, you owe the Dolphins back 8.6 million you took in bonus money! Hey, I have no problem with him coming back if he wants to play, as long as he serves his 4 game suspension, have at it. The one thing I do know, is that I wouldn’t want to be his teammate…. After quitting the way he did, and saying the things he said, I’m sure he’ll have to mend a few fences (ie, put up a couple 200yd rushing days….), before teammates will start coming around to him. Speaking of mending fences, Maurice Clarett isn’t doing himself any favors either. Even if Ohio State did some things for him, he gladly excepted them…… You can’t have it both ways….. His stock in the draft is dropping, and he’s costing himself more and more money. I’m sure some future teammates won’t be too thrilled with him.
College Basketball- Whats happened here?????? Man, growing up in the late 70’s and 80’s I was consumed by college basketball. I knew all the players, teams, coaches and the 2 greatest days on earth for me were the Thursday and Friday starting off March Madness every year. Now, who cares???? Seriously, does anyone out there really follow college basketball anymore? With all the top high school players going right into the NBA, college basketball has no star power. You used to follow a highly touted freshmen for 4 years, and get to know everything about them. Now it’s a bunch of decent players running around on the court. If I wanted to watch that, I’d go down to my local YMCA and watch them run around, it’s about the same talent… Growing up you had Georgetown’s “Hoya Paranoia” with players like Eric “sleepy” Floyd, Patrick Ewing, Reggie Williams and David Wingate, going up against North Carolina with Mike Jordan (as he was known as a freshmen), James Worthy, Sam Perkins, Kenny Smith….. Or Houston’s phi slamma jamma of Clyde “the glide” Drexler, Hakeem “Jelly Bean” Olajuwon (cause he ate so many jelly beans when he moved here from Nigeria….), Michael Young and Benny Anders going against Jimmy V’s NC State Wolfpack of Derek Whittenberg, Sidney Lowe, Thurl Bailey and Cozell McQueen. Who can forget the great teams of St. Johns with Chris Mullin, Mark Jackson and Walter Berry (for those of you that don’t remember Berry, he was unstoppable in college, a monster….), or Syracuse with Dwayne “the pearl” Washington, Rony Seikely or Sherman “The Little General” Douglas……. Obviously I could go on and on….. and that’s only in the early 80’s….. Think about all the great coaches and personalities back then. You had Dean Smith at North Carolina, John Thompson at Georgetown, Lou Carnisecca and his sweaters at St. Johns, Bobby Knight and his red sweater at Indiana, Rollie Massimino at Villanova, Jim Valvano at NC State, Jerry Tarkanian chewing on his towel at UNLV, Larry Brown getting UCLA back into the finals (Kiki Vandeweghe, Rod “The Rocket” Foster), a young Coach K at Duke, a young Rick Pitino at Providence, Joe B. Hall at Kentucky, Dale Brown at LSU and Denny Crum and his great players at Louisville (Darrell “Dr. Dunkenstein” Griffith, Pervis “Never Nervous” Ellison, Rodney and Scooter McCray, Milt Wagner and Billy Thompson). Today you still have a few of those guys left and some other talented coaches, but who really jumps out at you now???? One of my best basketball memories was going to a Georgetown, Syracuse game in 86 at the Carrier Dome. The attendance was over 33,000 and I sat in row XX. I literally could touch the roof of the dome when I stood up…… When Georgetown came out to warm up, they were wearing their road dark Grey jerseys and they looked like a bunch of ants running around……… Probably the most worthless thing I’ve ever done is do the wave in row XX! Today you couldn’t pay me to go to a college basketball game……….. I wish we could go back to the day when kids played college ball for 4 years before moving on to the pros. Man, I’m getting old……..
Baseball Hall of Fame- Well the ballot came out this week and some of the players on it are Wade Boggs, Darryl Strawberry, Chili Davies, Jack “Black Jack” McDowell, Mark Langston, Tom Candiotti and Willie McGee. Boggs is deserving, and will make it on the first ballot. Strawberry and McGee, well I think they were good players, I don’t feel they did enough to warrant HOF (and certainly not on first ballot), but will get numerous votes. The others I don’t feel have any chance of getting in. As for existing players on the ballot, I’d vote for Ryne Sandburg (just missed last year) and Jim Rice (won’t get in, but dominated in his era). Results will be announced on January 4th. As we all know the all time hits leader isn’t on the list, because he bet on baseball after he stopped playing the game…………. We have murderers in the Hall of Fame and convicted drug dealers, but god forbid “you ruin the integrity of the game by gambling”. Needless to say you know where I stand on this. Agreed he shouldn’t be allowed on the field, but to not put him in the HOF for his accomplishments is just idiotic. It brings the credibility down…….
Love Em/Hate Em – Peyton Manning. He’s going to shatter the all time single season touchdown record this year, and continue to put up amazing numbers. HOWEVER, until he can lead his team to victory in a big game, I have doubts about him……. He seems like a nice guy, hard working, honest, good teammate, but I have to say HATE HIM. Something about him just rubs me the wrong way……….. I certainly don’t love him, so’s I got to hate him!
Link of The Week- A buddy of mine forwarded this to me. I suppose there is nothing funny with someone getting arrested 96 times, but this was pretty good. Number 46 is my favorite. Think he pissed someone off?????
www.tinyurl.com/6fl3p
Some items of note – According to Brendan Collins, a big A’s fan, and loyal reader of “The Fifth”, watch for the A’s to turn around and trade newly acquired catcher Jason Kendall to the Dodgers. I haven’t read or heard about this anywhere except from Brendan, so if it does happen, credit him with the scoop. I do know that Kendall owns a home in Manhatten Beach(For those of you not living in California, it’s a suburb of LA), so I’m sure he’d be agreeable to the trade……. Also Butch Davies of the Browns quit/got fired this week, coming on the heels of me stating last week “look for him to finish out the year and then quit”…. Way to make me look bad Butch, you could have waited 5 weeks!
Oh well, until next week……..
Bill
Hope everyone is enjoying all that left over turkey………… Here are some thoughts from the past week.
Notre Dame Football- I was all set to rip into them this week then they go and fire Willingham……… Hard to believe that such a storied program has become so meaningless. Did you know that the last time they won a bowl game was 1994, beating Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl? How about this….. Name the last skill position player drafted in the first round by the NFL from Notre Dame??? Waiting…… Waiting…………. Ok, It was Rick Mirer drafted by the Seahawks second overall in the 1993 draft (The Patriots selected Drew Bledsoe #1 overall that year). The big time high school players now have no reference of what Notre Dame football used to be. Do you think they know (or care) about Knute Rockne, The 4 Horseman, Paul Hornung, Joe Montana (ok, I’ll give them this one….) or Tim Brown (didn’t he play for the Raiders???)? The 18yr old athlete (born in the mid 80’s) now looks at programs like Miami, Southern Cal, Florida State, Oklahoma, Florida, etc…….. Those 5 schools represent most of the marquee (not to mention recent Heisman Trophy winners) players in the NFL today. For what ever reason Notre Dame cannot get the marquee players anymore. Hence, they are a mediocre program……….. Early word is current Utah head coach Urban Meyer (and former Notre Dame assistant) is the front runner to be offered the head coaching position.
Pro Football- I was asked this past week about Ricky Williams and why no mention of him…… What I said was basically he bores me….. No one is pointing a gun to his head to play football. Believe it or not Ricky, the NFL will go on without you. Go travel the world, smoke pot and enjoy your life…………… Oh by way, you owe the Dolphins back 8.6 million you took in bonus money! Hey, I have no problem with him coming back if he wants to play, as long as he serves his 4 game suspension, have at it. The one thing I do know, is that I wouldn’t want to be his teammate…. After quitting the way he did, and saying the things he said, I’m sure he’ll have to mend a few fences (ie, put up a couple 200yd rushing days….), before teammates will start coming around to him. Speaking of mending fences, Maurice Clarett isn’t doing himself any favors either. Even if Ohio State did some things for him, he gladly excepted them…… You can’t have it both ways….. His stock in the draft is dropping, and he’s costing himself more and more money. I’m sure some future teammates won’t be too thrilled with him.
College Basketball- Whats happened here?????? Man, growing up in the late 70’s and 80’s I was consumed by college basketball. I knew all the players, teams, coaches and the 2 greatest days on earth for me were the Thursday and Friday starting off March Madness every year. Now, who cares???? Seriously, does anyone out there really follow college basketball anymore? With all the top high school players going right into the NBA, college basketball has no star power. You used to follow a highly touted freshmen for 4 years, and get to know everything about them. Now it’s a bunch of decent players running around on the court. If I wanted to watch that, I’d go down to my local YMCA and watch them run around, it’s about the same talent… Growing up you had Georgetown’s “Hoya Paranoia” with players like Eric “sleepy” Floyd, Patrick Ewing, Reggie Williams and David Wingate, going up against North Carolina with Mike Jordan (as he was known as a freshmen), James Worthy, Sam Perkins, Kenny Smith….. Or Houston’s phi slamma jamma of Clyde “the glide” Drexler, Hakeem “Jelly Bean” Olajuwon (cause he ate so many jelly beans when he moved here from Nigeria….), Michael Young and Benny Anders going against Jimmy V’s NC State Wolfpack of Derek Whittenberg, Sidney Lowe, Thurl Bailey and Cozell McQueen. Who can forget the great teams of St. Johns with Chris Mullin, Mark Jackson and Walter Berry (for those of you that don’t remember Berry, he was unstoppable in college, a monster….), or Syracuse with Dwayne “the pearl” Washington, Rony Seikely or Sherman “The Little General” Douglas……. Obviously I could go on and on….. and that’s only in the early 80’s….. Think about all the great coaches and personalities back then. You had Dean Smith at North Carolina, John Thompson at Georgetown, Lou Carnisecca and his sweaters at St. Johns, Bobby Knight and his red sweater at Indiana, Rollie Massimino at Villanova, Jim Valvano at NC State, Jerry Tarkanian chewing on his towel at UNLV, Larry Brown getting UCLA back into the finals (Kiki Vandeweghe, Rod “The Rocket” Foster), a young Coach K at Duke, a young Rick Pitino at Providence, Joe B. Hall at Kentucky, Dale Brown at LSU and Denny Crum and his great players at Louisville (Darrell “Dr. Dunkenstein” Griffith, Pervis “Never Nervous” Ellison, Rodney and Scooter McCray, Milt Wagner and Billy Thompson). Today you still have a few of those guys left and some other talented coaches, but who really jumps out at you now???? One of my best basketball memories was going to a Georgetown, Syracuse game in 86 at the Carrier Dome. The attendance was over 33,000 and I sat in row XX. I literally could touch the roof of the dome when I stood up…… When Georgetown came out to warm up, they were wearing their road dark Grey jerseys and they looked like a bunch of ants running around……… Probably the most worthless thing I’ve ever done is do the wave in row XX! Today you couldn’t pay me to go to a college basketball game……….. I wish we could go back to the day when kids played college ball for 4 years before moving on to the pros. Man, I’m getting old……..
Baseball Hall of Fame- Well the ballot came out this week and some of the players on it are Wade Boggs, Darryl Strawberry, Chili Davies, Jack “Black Jack” McDowell, Mark Langston, Tom Candiotti and Willie McGee. Boggs is deserving, and will make it on the first ballot. Strawberry and McGee, well I think they were good players, I don’t feel they did enough to warrant HOF (and certainly not on first ballot), but will get numerous votes. The others I don’t feel have any chance of getting in. As for existing players on the ballot, I’d vote for Ryne Sandburg (just missed last year) and Jim Rice (won’t get in, but dominated in his era). Results will be announced on January 4th. As we all know the all time hits leader isn’t on the list, because he bet on baseball after he stopped playing the game…………. We have murderers in the Hall of Fame and convicted drug dealers, but god forbid “you ruin the integrity of the game by gambling”. Needless to say you know where I stand on this. Agreed he shouldn’t be allowed on the field, but to not put him in the HOF for his accomplishments is just idiotic. It brings the credibility down…….
Love Em/Hate Em – Peyton Manning. He’s going to shatter the all time single season touchdown record this year, and continue to put up amazing numbers. HOWEVER, until he can lead his team to victory in a big game, I have doubts about him……. He seems like a nice guy, hard working, honest, good teammate, but I have to say HATE HIM. Something about him just rubs me the wrong way……….. I certainly don’t love him, so’s I got to hate him!
Link of The Week- A buddy of mine forwarded this to me. I suppose there is nothing funny with someone getting arrested 96 times, but this was pretty good. Number 46 is my favorite. Think he pissed someone off?????
www.tinyurl.com/6fl3p
Some items of note – According to Brendan Collins, a big A’s fan, and loyal reader of “The Fifth”, watch for the A’s to turn around and trade newly acquired catcher Jason Kendall to the Dodgers. I haven’t read or heard about this anywhere except from Brendan, so if it does happen, credit him with the scoop. I do know that Kendall owns a home in Manhatten Beach(For those of you not living in California, it’s a suburb of LA), so I’m sure he’d be agreeable to the trade……. Also Butch Davies of the Browns quit/got fired this week, coming on the heels of me stating last week “look for him to finish out the year and then quit”…. Way to make me look bad Butch, you could have waited 5 weeks!
Oh well, until next week……..
Bill
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