Corner Kicks: Serie A Preview

By Dhruva Jaishankar

This is the second in a four-part preview of the European soccer season.

Italy’s glamorous top-flight league, the 20-team Serie A, attracts some of the brightest talents and biggest names in world soccer. A predisposition toward cautious defense (or catenaccio) and a wealth of talent across the board mean that the league is often closely competed. As a result, all four titles between 1999 and 2002 were decided on the last day of play. At the other end of the table, the last day of the 2004-2005 season saw as many as 11 teams facing the possibility of relegation. The upcoming season looks to be much of the same.

Perennial heavyweights AC Milan and Juventus have to be the two clubs most likely to win the Serie A title (Scudetto) this year. Juventus has made European soccer’s biggest off-season buy by purchasing redoubtable French midfielder Patrick Vieira from Arsenal. Vieira joins an already talented team boasting the steady Fabio Cannavaro in defense, a former European Player of the Year in winger Pavel Nedved and towering Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, as well as Gianluigi Buffon, often considered the best goalkeeper in the world. In the face of Juventus’ prize purchase, rivals AC Milan have not let up, bringing in former star striker Christian Vieiri and the man popularly believed to be Vieiri’s heir Alberto Gilardino, giving them two forwards to partner last year’s European Player of the Year Andriy Shevchenko. In every other department, Milan is equally stacked, although aging captain Paolo Maldini may now be irrevocably over the hill.

Internazionale, Milan’s hometown rivals, are once again likely to finish no higher than third. The team will suffer from a defense that is not getting any younger and a disorganized midfield. Now that they have let go of talismanic striker Vieiri, Inter will have to rely more than ever on the goal-scoring abilities of Brazilian Adriano.

The big jumper in this year’s Serie A will probably be former Scudetto winners Fiorentina, a team that had gone from title contenders to bankrupt fourth-division team and back in less than five years. Last year, the Viola flirted with relegation, but by this summer they have forged an impressive line-up of internationals. The pick may be 19-year-old Valeri Bojinov who should blossom into one of Serie A’s biggest stars.

As usual, Italian soccer has been dogged by scandal in the off-season. AS Roma, champions only five years ago, are facing a ban on all transfers following their illegal approach for French defender Philippe Mexes. That means that a number of high-profile transactions conducted by the Giallorossi are in jeopardy, leaving the team at a severe disadvantage despite having two of the league’s best players in Francesco Totti and Antonio Cassano. A further scandal has erupted with newly-promoted Genoa being found guilty of match-fixing. As a result, the team has been demoted, although no club has been appointed to take its place.

2005-06 Standings: Juventus, AC Milan, Fiorentina, Inter Milan, Sampdoria, Messina, Roma, Udinese, Reggina, Lazio, Palermo, Chievo, Lecce, Siena, Torino, Livorno, Cagliari, Parma, Empoli

Top Scorers: Bojinov (Fiorentina), Adriano (Inter), Chiesa (Siena), Gilardino (Milan), Toni (Fiorentina), Di Michele (Udinese), Ibrahimovic (Juventus), Esposito (Cagliari), Shevchenko (Milan), Pandev (Lazio)

A Date to Remember

By Greg Kelminson

July 31st, a day that will live in infamy. Okay maybe I am exaggerating but hopefully most of you know that this Sunday is the MLB trading deadline. Teams are still allowed to make trades after the deadline only if the player clears waivers or is traded to the team that makes the waiver claim. This year seems like it will be a pretty quiet year. There is no Randy Johnson available or even a Carlos Beltran. The big names on this year’s market include Alfonso Soriano, Aubrey Huff, and Jason Schmidt.

For the past couple of years the rumor of Soriano to the New York Mets has been floating around. It has since gained some momentum. By my count, there are at least 100 rumors of the players being demanded for by both sides. In one version, the Rangers have asked for Jose Reyes. In another the Rangers demanded Mike Cameron and the Mets top two prospects. The list can go on and on of all these “sources” with inside information. Let’s suspend reality for a second and assume that Soriano does get traded to the Mets and Mike Cameron comes to Texas in return. The Mets get a player in Soriano who hits only .240 and 7 home runs away from the hitter friendly Ameriquest field. Cameron, on the other hand, is hitting .243 and 5 home runs at home and plays a lot better defense than Soriano. Is Soriano really worth it? Remember when the Astros traded Larry Anderson to the Red Sox and got back a prospect named Jeff Bagwell. The Boston Red Sox went nowhere from the trade while the Astros got a hall of fame talent in return. Karma came back around from Houston later. The Astros essentially sold the farm to get Randy Johnson. The Astros gave up the likes of Carlos Guillen and Freddy Garcia. The Houston Astros failed to make it to the NLCS that year and subsequently lost Randy Johnson much like they did with Carlos Beltran last year.

Before you give up a future hall of famer or all-star, make sure you know what you are getting in return. I bet the Houston Astros would love to have Garcia as their fourth starter, or Carlos Guillen teaming up with Morgan Ensberg on the right side of the infield. The Red Sox could have had Jeff Bagwell at first base throughout the 1990’s. Sure, I didn’t mention any of the trades that put a team over the top, but more often then not, it’s a team mortgaging its future for the chance to win now. Just remember the old saying: buyer beware.

More Games, Less Sports

By Brian Weaver

As the World Series of Poker antied up for its last day, ESPN held a press conference to spell out the possibility of more card games on the network in coming years.

“We’re very excited for the future of card games on our all-sports channel,” said the spokesperson. “We’ve just signed an agreement with the World Series of Go Fish, the World Series of Old Maid, and the World Series of 500 Rummy. So, while the sun is setting on this year’s poker Series, the horizon is ripe with new World Series.” Despite the excitement, cynics still grilled the spokesman about what, exactly, constitutes a sport if card games are featured on the sports network.

“What makes poker a sport is the fact that the people are skilled at what they’re doing, “the spokesperson responded. When a representative of the National Association of Rock-Paper-Scissors objected, saying that participants in the NARPS World Series were very skilled, the spokesman dismissed the representative’s reasoning.

"Yes, but the WSOP is very competitive,” he said. “That’s what really makes it a sport. That part’s even more important than the skill aspect.” At this, the president of the National Competitive Speed-Typers Association actually shouted at the podium that his organization was full of incredibly competitive people, but they hadn’t shown the World Series of Speed-Typing. The burst of temper didn’t surprise anyone, as the NCSTA has lobbied loud and repeatedly for airtime on ESPN or ESPN2 for years. The president was removed from the conference.

Tempers have flared among minor activities that claim to be sports ever since ESPN started airing the World Series of Poker. As the card game journeyed from smoky kitchens to the airwaves, it became a role model for other household games wanting to make the leap from random room of the house to television. Risk (the living room), air hockey (the basement), and Nerf basketball (any room with a door) have all formed committees to determine the likelihood of forming their own World Series and heading for the networks. But even though these games are played all over, there’s more to being a sport than just popularity.

“Some of your players have to have really quirky names that apply to the sport,” said the spokesman. “You know, like Chris Moneymaker. Croquet wanted air time, but until they get a Jimmy Wicketsplitter, it’s just one step short of ESPN quality.” The spokesman went on to say that despite the large interest from actual sports – rugby, track and field, water polo, lacrosse, wrestling, to name a few – to get air time, the network plans on airing even more card games.

Besides the aforementioned Go Fish, Old Maid, and 500 Rummy, executives have also been in contact with numerous other card games to try to initiate more World Series play. Problems have developed in some areas, however, causing concerns over whether or not all of the games can appear on the worldwide leader of sports.

Cribbage appears to be one such stumbling block. The traditionalists don’t want any changes made to the wooden board, while the network has pushed hard to get a “peg cam” in the bottom of each of the board’s holes. Solitaire has presented its own problems, as nobody’s quite sure of how to set up the bracket since only one person plays per game.

Political correctness has also ruffled feathers of higher-ups on the card circuit. Gin Rummy’s World Series organizers have said anonymously that they’d be willing to change to “juice rummy”, but the World Series of War has put up an intense fight against the proposed name “World Series of Fun”.

“It’s a battle out there,” says Andy Turnover, the unofficial national War champion of 2001. “It doesn’t matter if it’s the same number of letters, because war is more than just a name- it’s our emotions. We’re talking about a card game’s World Series here! This is no small thing.”

ESPN has plans in the works for World Series of Bridge and Hearts in the coming decades, though these are still in the brainstorming phase.

“Nobody really knows all of the rules to bridge,” an ESPN official said. “And Hearts, well, fwe can’t decide whether to have humans vs. humans, humans vs. computer, humans killing time at work vs. computer, eight year-olds who don’t really know the game but always play on the computer when they get tired of minesweeper vs. college kids that just play to put off major essays... We’d need some sort of conference play set up. Perhaps a system like college baseball, with regionals and super-regionals before the actual World Series.”

When asked whether so many World Series would hinder programs like baseball, hockey, basketball, or football, the official smiled. “We’re not sure, but there’s a definite chance we’d bump other programming,” he replied. “But hey, they’re all sports, right?”

Lance's Legacy

By Dhruva Jaishankar

Lance Armstrong outdid himself yet again by comfortably cruising to a seventh straight Tour de France victory on Sunday, completing a saga that has captured the imagination of a nation and brought a relatively obscure sport to the forefront of America’s consciousness. With this final win, Armstrong has cemented his status as a hero to millions of cycling enthusiasts. For non-cyclists, and non-sports fans, Armstrong continues to provide inspiration as a cancer survivor. His Livestrong Bracelets are now iconic. Such is his stature in American society that there is already talk of him running for governor of Texas. Sports pundits are proclaiming him the greatest athlete of his generation in any sport.

Call me contrarian, but while everyone was busy fêting his victory, I decided to look into what he had accomplished in his storied professional cycling career. Leaving aside his amazing seven consecutive Tour de France titles, I counted one World Cycling Championship (1993), one Olympic Bronze medal (2000), one Tour de Suisse (2001) one US Pro Championship (1993) and one Fleche Wallone (1996). That’s good, but not great for a guy who is being proclaimed as the greatest cyclist ever, and the most dominant athlete of his generation. His CV still lacks a Giro d’Italia or a Vuelta a Espana, a World Time-Trial Championship, an Olympic gold medal or a win at any of the five one-day Classics. He never finished a season ranked number one, although he did finish second in 2002. I do not mean to belittle his achievements, but Armstrong appears to have focused only on winning the Tour year after year. The legend of Lance has overshadowed the one-dimensional path of his career.

Now that he has retired, true cycling enthusiasts may come to rue last Sunday. Their beloved sport may return to relative obscurity, in this country at least. A poll on ESPN.com showed that 60% of fans would not follow next year’s Tour if an American was not in contention. With the emergence of Alexandre Vinokourov, Mickael Rasmussen and Ivan Basso as contenders, an immediate American success-story is unlikely, despite the achievements of Floyd Landis, George Hincapie and Levi Leipheimer.

Armstrong has certainly been inspirational, but one cannot underestimate the short-term memory of the American sports fan. Does anyone other than die-hard cycling fans remember American cyclist Greg LeMond, who won three Tours in the late 1980s? In 1989, riding with 37 shotgun pellets in his body from a hunting accident, LeMond pipped Laurent Fignon to win his second Tour by 8 seconds. That year, Sports Illustrated declared him the Sportsman of the Year. Today he is largely forgotten. Armstrong will persevere in the public consciousness because he overcame cancer. He deserves to be feted, celebrated, even mythologized for what he did. But greatest cyclist or most dominant athlete he is not. Not when he has passed up on other major races. Chances are, now that Armstrong’s gone, the sport will suffer. Sunday may well be remembered as a small step for Lance, but a step in the wrong direction for American cycling.

Playoff Ready?

By Jake Brown

I love how everything has fallen into place for the Chicago White Sox this season. I really do. Okay, so I don’t. I can’t stand loudmouth manager Ozzie Guillen and his scrappy “smartball” team. Scott Podsednik gets on my nerves and I think Frank Thomas is no longer the ballplayer that Sox fans still think he is. That’s why I’m here to remind South Siders that despite the fact that their team has the best record in the league, they still have a long way to go.

First a history lesson is in order. Does anybody remember the White Sox of five seasons ago? Best record in the American League in 2000, seemingly storming toward the World Series only to be swept in the Division Series by the Seattle Mariners. We also shouldn’t forget that the Sox haven’t won the pennant since 1959, and haven’t won the World Series since 1917. Each of those dates marks the second longest droughts in the majors, behind that other team in Chicago.

Statistically speaking, the Sox aren’t as dominating a team as their record indicates. They have the second-worst batting average in the AL, and the third-worst on-base percentage in the league. Sure they lead the league in stolen bases, but that doesn’t do much good if your guys aren’t on base very much.

They do have the best pitching team in the AL, but that might not get them as far as you’d think in the playoffs. They’re going to have to go through at least one of the slugging teams from out East if they want to make it to the Series. The Red Sox and the Yankees will be able to hit their pitching, especially since nobody on the White Sox staff is a fireballing strike out pitcher. White Sox starting pitchers pitch towards contact, rather than for strikeouts, and that’s not something you necessarily want to do when you’re going through the heart of Boston and New York’s lineups.

The White Sox bullpen remains a question. Sure, they’ve been great so far this season. However, none of the guys down there have proven they can handle the tight spots of a pennant race, and the health of closer Dustin Hermanson’s back as the season slogs along will be a big question. The bullpen isn’t the only part of the team that lacks big game experience, though. Aside from Frank Thomas, who has spent the majority of the season on the disabled list, much of this team has no idea how to win big games in October, and most of their opponents in the playoffs will have that experience.

What they do have is a manager who won a World Series as a coach for the Florida Marlins in 2003, and a general manager who isn’t afraid to tinker with the team if he thinks he can fill a need. Ozzie Guillen has the experience to lead his team through the postseason and to the World Series, and GM Kenny Williams will make a move to improve his club if there is a move to be made.

White Sox fans should still be wary though; they’ve seen their teams do this in the past. Only time will tell what the 2005 Chicago White Sox will do, but I wouldn’t put a repeat of the 2000 postseason past them.

Wood Wearing Out

By Nick Matkovich

Kerry Wood left Wednesday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds with stiffness in his right shoulder. Only the gullible and stupid would have thought that Kerry Wood was going to make it through the rest of the season without missing another start.

How many times do the Cubs have to get pantsed by Wood’s right arm before they realize they have to start wearing suspenders when it comes to dealing with the fragile fire-baller?

Each year is supposed to be the year for Kerry Wood. The year where he puts it all together, avoids injury, and claims a top spot in the baseball world. Flashes of his brilliance are shown once in a while such as the 2003 playoffs, but those flashes last shorter than ice cream sandwiches in front of Tony Gywnn.

Each year is met with an arm injury from Wood, more specifically, an injury to his throwing arm. These are not hard-luck injuries like taking a line drive off the forearm or getting hit by a pitch in the wrist, no, these injuries are based on stubbornness and ignorance, nothing else. These are injuries that could be avoided if Wood altered his mechanics.

Wood refuses to change his mechanics, and surprise to no one, he ends up injuring his arm. Wood’s problem lies in the fact that he gets up for big games but yawns and fires through ones versus cellar teams. Wood is always up for games against teams like the Cardinals and Astros or more specifically, games on national television where America can idolize his nastiness on the mound. When it comes to a Thursday afternoon game versus the Pirates broadcasted locally, Wood’s national exposure bravado dwindles to local lackadaisicalness where a minor twinge causes him to miss a start and give Cubs fans a natural dry-heave.

That’s why it’s time to ship the warped Wood out of a Cubs’ uniform. Thank him for his 20 strikeout against the Astros his rookie year. Pat him on the back for the job he did in the 2003 playoffs, but send him out of Chicago as soon as possible because it would be dishonest to say Wood’s trade value is going to turn in an upward direction.

If Wood catches on with another team and turns it around, god bless him, and god bless the part ordained minister, part pitching coach who will be able to perform that miracle. Hopefully, he won’t have to sacrifice too many chickens or burn that much incense to impart some sense in Wood. Mechanically speaking, Wood is on the fast track to nowhere, and a trade would be the thing to make him realize the Cubs are not waiting for a 27-year-old to mature.

Corner Kicks: Premiership Preview

By Dhruva Jaishankar

This is the first in a four-part preview of the European soccer (football) season. This week, I focus on the English Premier League, England’s top club football league which consists of twenty teams that play one another twice (once home and once away), for a total of 38 matches each. Teams get three points for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss. The team with the most points after 38 matches is crowned champion, and along with the second-, third- and fourth- placed teams, takes part in the lucrative European Champions League competition the following season. Teams that finish fifth, sixth and seventh are usually eligible for the UEFA Cup, Europe’s second-tier competition. The bottom three teams are relegated to the Championship, England’s second league.

Chelsea (1st last season) are the current champions and the smart money is on them to repeat last season’s dominant form. Their defense will remain miserly thanks to goalkeeper Petr Cech, defensive stalwart John Terry and ball-winning midfielder Claude Makelele, and they have a bevy of exciting attacking midfielders. However, questions surround their star strikers’ abilities to find the back of the net.

Arsenal (2nd last year), Manchester United (3rd) and Liverpool (5th) are the only three other teams with a realistic chance of winning the Premiership. Arsenal has a gaping hole in midfield with the departure of hard-tackling captain Patrick Vieira to Italian champions Juventus. Their only big purchase this summer has been Belarussian Alexander Hleb, who, while creative, is unlikely to support Arsenal’s porous defense. Man U. may have found a temporary fix to their keeper headache by buying giant Dutchman Edwin van der Sar. If star strikers Wayne Rooney and Ruud van Nistelrooy are healthy and Cristiano Ronaldo, Kieran Richardson and Park Ji-Sung mature into star midfielders, the Red Devils could finish ahead of rivals Arsenal. Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has spent the summer buying a host of players from his native Spain. However, he appears to lack the planning of Chelsea’s Jose Mourinho. Apart from midfielders Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso, defender Jamie Carragher and goalkeeper Pepe Reina, no one’s place is certain. Liverpool’s first team is both large and chaotic, and as a result, the Reds could finish anywhere between 2nd and 5th this year.

The jostle for UEFA Cup spots is far more open. Tottenham (9th) and Newcastle (14th) have both made big signings over the summer and are the favorites, although Tottenham is weak in midfield and Newcastle has yet to acquire replacement strikers for Patrick Kluivert and Craig Bellamy. Last year’s surprise team Everton (4th), their coffers filled with Champions League money, could possibly fall in this range as well. Other contenders for UEFA Cup spots are Birmingham (12th), Aston Villa (10th), Middlesbrough (7th), Manchester City (8th) and perennially-overachieving Bolton (6th).

The relegation battle is often the most exciting aspect of the league format. Last season, four teams had a chance of going down on the final day of competition, with West Bromwich Albion (17th) narrowly escaping after a dramatic 2-0 win over Portsmouth. This year WBA’s going to have their work cut out for them again. Premiership newbies Sunderland, Wigan and West Ham, however, have done little on the transfer market to turn themselves into Premiership regulars, so they are the favorites to go back down. Portsmouth (16th), Fulham (13th), Blackburn (15th) and Charlton (11th) may also flirt with relegation this year, but chances are they will all remain comfortably in mid-table.

You heard it here first:

2005-06 Standings: Chelsea, Man U., Liverpool, Arsenal, Middlesbrough, Tottenham, Everton, Bolton, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Manchester City, Portsmouth, Fulham, Blackburn, Birmingham, Charlton, Sunderland, West Brom, Wigan, West Ham.

Top Scorers: Henry (Arsenal), Yakubu (M’brough), Hasselbaink (M’brough), Rooney (Man U.), Lampard (Chelsea), van Nistelrooy (Man U.), Pires (Arsenal), Cisse (Liverpool), Keane (Tottenham), Cahill (Everton).

Taking the Power Back

By Blake Skinner

It looks as though, the only thing Terrell Owens will be catching this year is boo's from Philadelphia fans. The Eagles are refusing to re-negotiate with the All-Pro wide receiver. He is demanding a new contract after one year of a seven year, $49 million deal he signed last year. All I have to say to that is, "Good job Philadelphia."

The Eagles are refusing to even listen to Owens and his cut-throat agent Drew Rosenhaus. This is a great move for not only the Eagles but also a great move for all professional sports teams. In an era where players’ agents seem to hold more power than general mangers, this move by the Eagles puts the power back in the hands of the people who should have it: the front office.

Some players’ demands are almost as absurd as their perspective on life. Owens is demanding a new contract, after signing a deal for seven years in which he played one season. A season where the Eagles made it to the Super Bowl without Owens playing in the final two games of the season and missing the first two games of the playoffs with a leg injury.

This is not as if Owens signed small deal and had a break out season. He is getting paid $7 million a year and really hasn't shown any signs of being a better player than he was before he signed the deal.

The Eagles need to sit pat and tell Owens that he is expected to report to camp and if he doesn't than he can spend the rest of season rotting on the bench, losing value. The Eagles are putting the power back where it belongs and taking it away from super agents like Rosenhaus and Scott Boras. If the executives don't take back the bargaining power, then other sports leagues are going to have the same problem the NHL had. The salaries got too high for the market and everybody knows how that ended up.

Executives across sports, follow in the footsteps of the Eagles, or the next time you look at your league's balance sheet, you could be seeing red.

Mr. Roger's Neighborhood

By Brian Weaver

Hello, neighbors. Welcome to Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. I know I look different today. That’s because Mr. Fred Rogers is a little under the weather. I’m his distant relative, Kenny. I’m a pitcher for the Texas Rangers. Can you say that? Rangers?

Sure. I knew ya could. We’ve got a lot to do today. But before we get started, I’m going to go around the rooms of Mr. Rogers’ house and close all the blinds. Here we go: one blind, two blinds, three blinds. Now none of those cameramen can see what we’re doing. That’s actually what we’re going to talk about today, kids: the evil, evil cameramen who work at baseball stadiums.

When you grow up, you’ll all be very good at something. Some of you will be teachers in a school, some of you might be an astronaut, and some of you could even be the President! But some of you will become cameramen. These are the people holding those big black cameras you see at games. They shoot the videos of games so that you all can see them at home. They’re the very best at what they do.

Now, I know they sound good, but believe me, they’re not. You see, they keep taking pictures of me for their TV stations. I’m a high-profile athlete, and I shouldn’t have my picture taken if I don’t want to. I know, you’re probably thinking, “But hey, Mr. Rogers, every other athlete except Barry Bonds talks to cameras and doesn’t get angry at them.” But I’m Mr. Rogers, and I should have things the way I want.

You probably saw me push Larry the Cameraman the other day. That’s because he was getting too close. Sure, the general manager of my team says that Larry is one of the best cameramen the Rangers have ever had, but remember, I’m Mr. Rogers. I deserve special treatment, even if it means that I had to hurt Larry’s neck and back to do it. Your Daddies are probably saying that Mr. Rogers is a bad guy right now for pushing Larry, and they probably said I shouldn’t have pitched in the All-Star Game. But because of the appeals system in baseball, I was able to throw an inning. Can you say that? Appeals?

Sure. I knew ya could. Appeals let me pitch the games I’m scheduled to pitch, even the special ones like the All-Star Game. I’ll be facing criminal charges since I turned myself into the police station. But I don’t think baseball should have suspended me for twenty whole games. After all, I might play in four or five of those games. And they want to fine me $50,000. Do you know what a fine is? A fine is when baseball tries to take .01497 of the $3.3 million contract you negotiated hard for in the off-season. Sounds mean, doesn’t it? Well, it is. And it makes me angry.

Have you ever been angry about something? I’ll bet you have. Maybe you couldn’t get a kite to fly. Maybe you were missing a piece to that jigsaw puzzle you almost had finished. Or maybe you’re a Bills fan. Now, regular Mr. Rogers will probably tell you to find a way to channel that anger. Maybe you could draw a picture, or jump into a swimming pool and splash and play. But if you really want to make that angry feeling go away, what you should do is punch a cooler in your dugout.

Your Little League coach will probably tell you that’s the wrong thing to do. But it’s okay to have a temper. Mr. Rogers punched a cooler, and all he got was a broken finger and a missed start. I might have let some of my teammates down, because we were playing very good baseball at the time. I took myself out of the rotation when my team really needed me. But I want you to remember this lesson when you get older: it’s all about you, and not anybody else. Besides, I’m sure if I apologize, Hank Blalock, Alfonso Soriano, Mark Teixeira, and the rest of the team will forgive me. Can you say that? Teixeira?

That’s okay- I really never learned to, either. But I do need forgiveness. Have you ever wanted somebody to forgive you? When I pushed Larry, I needed people to forgive me. Not because I felt bad, but because the longer I took to apologize, the more cameramen would come around me and try to take pictures. And people in the media would keep writing angry articles about me, too. So, a couple of weeks ago I apologized, and pretended like I was really sorry. But I wasn’t. I probably would have gotten away with it, but then another cameraman tried to take my picture when the policemen at the station were fingerprinting me. I threatened him, too, and it showed people that I really wasn’t sorry.

Well, that’s okay, that’s all the time we have anyway. Make sure you tune in tomorrow, kids. Trolley’s going to go to the land of make-believe, a land where you’ll see Mr. Rogers getting off scot-free for his criminal acts, and suffer no permanent repercussions for his actions.

But be sure to remember, kids: it’s just a land of make-believe.

Playing the Wild Card

By J. Slavich

If you are an American League fan, this will be an exciting next two months. As we move into the second half of the baseball season, the wild card spot is up for grabs between eight teams. Even the Detroit Tigers are still in the hunt.

If you look at the wild card standings, there is an incredible amount of AL teams still competing. Compared to previous years, when it seemed clear that one or two teams would dominate the wild card race after the second half, this year nobody has a lock yet. As of today, Minnesota and the New York are tied for the lead, with Baltimore 1.5 games back, Oakland 2.5 games back, Texas 3 games back, Cleveland 4 games back, Toronto 4.5 games back, and Detroit 5 games back.

The national league doesn’t even compare. Atlanta seems to have a firm lead, 4.5 games up on Philadelphia and 5 games up on a host of others. That’s as far back as Detroit is from the Yankees and Minnesota. While there are a small number of teams still competing in the NL, the majority of the AL can still compete over the next two months for a playoff spot.

In three of the last four years, the AL wild card winner had a lead of at least 6 games when the season ended. The only exception was in 2003 when the Mariners finished two games behind the Red Sox. This year seems like it could break the norm of only five or six teams competing for a playoff spot.

The AL Central leading White Sox and the AL West leading Angels, already have significant leads of 11 games and 6.5 games, respectively. But the AL East is still up for grabs. The Orioles, the Red Sox, and the Yankees have been switching positions as if it’s the newest trend. On top of that, the Twins are playing just as well as anybody in the East. Giving them the chance to make the playoffs despite the White Sox ridiculously good first-half. Also, the A’s and the Rangers in the west still only sit a few games away from grabbing the wild card lead. All it takes is one team going on a lengthy winning streak to put it at the top of the wild card race.

What does this all add up to? An exciting August and September. When the weather can get the hottest and the aches and pains of a long season begin to pile up, teams will be asked to play their best. With so many teams in contention, maybe this year we won’t see the usual flood of bad pitching from the minor leagues when the rosters expand, as teams try to stay competitive. Maybe someone will pull away, but not without a fight. Everyday in the AL from here on out is going to be a brawl for the top spot.

Junior Back?

By Troy Eason

The numbers don’t lie. From 1990 to 1999, no one was better. The youngest member of the All-Century Team, Ken Griffey, Jr. was on pace to break Hank Aaron’s home run record and become one of the greatest players to play baseball. Spectacular defense, monster home runs, and two divisional titles for the Mariners were just some of Junior’s accomplishments in the 90’s. Despite being competitive, the Mariners never made it to a World Series. Griffey wanted out as a new star was emerging from Seattle in the person of Alex Rodriguez.

After a blockbuster trade to the Cincinnati Reds after the ’99 season, Junior put up 40 homers and had 118 RBIs in his initial campaign in the Senior Circuit. In 2001 however, a scary trend began to occur. Over the next 3 ½ seasons, The Kid missed an astounding 331 regular season games due to injury. In 2001, a torn knee ligament and torn hamstring limited him to 111 games. The following year, another hamstring, foot, and knee problem limited Griffey to only 53 games. Following this, many speculated that this was simply hard settling on Junior. However, 2003 brought more of the same. Another leg injury combined with a separated right shoulder sidelined Griffey yet again and held him to under half a season played at 70 games.

Griffey was never known as a guy who worked out hard in the off-season to stay in shape…he never had to. Junior had such amazing natural ability that his body could handle taking four months off and picking up again in full stride. Ten years of playing on the hard Astroturf in Seattle’s Kingdome had finally taken its toll on one of the most gifted athletes baseball had ever seen.

Sports writers and critics began to write Griffey off as a has-been, a wash-up, or a once-was. Many wondered if he could even stay healthy an entire season anymore. However, a rigorous off-season workout between ’03 and ’04 had people’s eyes opening and whispers stirred that The Kid was back. The first half of 2004 certainly looked as though Griffey had returned to form. Twenty home runs and sixty RBI’s in the first three months of the season earned Griffey his 12th All-Star selection. But tragedy struck once more. Junior tore his hamstring completely off the bone on July 8th, 2004 ending his season. What would he do now, many people wondered. Retire? Try again?

“I still don’t have a ring,” Griffey said in an interview with ESPN’s Joe Morgan, “I’ll play ‘til I get one.”

Thanks to some titanium screws holding his hamstring to his bone, Griffey is back at it again and so far this season it looks like he’s FINALLY back. Batting at or near .290 with 20 homers and 62 RBIs has been very impressive (even for a Red’s team on pace to lose 110 games). What’s even more impressive is that Junior has looks healthier now than when he arrived in Cincy nearly 5 years ago.

If he can return to form, Junior may once again start to chase records so many thought he would never reach.

Final Adjustments

By Jake Brown - Indiana Daily Student

As the trading deadline approaches many teams are beginning to make some deals in preparation for a second half run at the playoffs. Some teams are trying to hold on to first place, and some teams are retooling for a push from second or third place. While the American League East may be the most compelling race with the Orioles and Red Sox a mere half game behind the resurgent New York Yankees, and the AL Wild Card interesting in its own right, the National League Wild Card is shaping into a fine race as we push through the dog days of the season.

The Braves, who find themselves a half game behind the Washington Nationals in the NL East hold a 4.5 game lead on Philadelphia and a 5 game lead on Chicago in the Wild Card. The team to watch for here though is the club from the North Side of Chi-Town. The Phillies don’t seem to have much of an idea whether they want to play to their potential or not, and their pitching simply isn’t good enough to sustain a run.

The Cubs on the other hand finally have their starting rotation in order after what has seemed like an endless string of injuries to one of the finer rotations in baseball. Mark Prior and Kerry Wood were injured for so much of the first half of the season that they’ll be stronger going down the stretch. After Wood and Prior, Zambrano, Maddux and Jerome Williams have been throwing well. If these five all pitch to their potential in the second half the Cubs is a team nobody wants to face.

Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and Jeromy Burnitz have been carrying the offense for most of the season, with sporadic contributions from elsewhere. After shaking up the lineup by sending strikeout machine Corey Patterson to the minors however, players like Todd Walker and rookie Matt Murton have been stepping up.

The bullpen is a problem, but don’t think that general manager Jim Hendry doesn’t have something in the works to fix that. He has been one of the most creative and active GM’s near the trading deadline for the past few years. Besides, the closer situation finally seems resolved, as Ryan Dempster has converted 13 of 14 save opportunities. The other glaring weakness is the lead off spot. Hendry has been desperately searching for a lead-off man since it became obvious that Patterson was incapable of filling the void, most notably being rumored to be after Florida’s Juan Pierre.

If Hendry can find the resources and the buyers to help fill some of the holes that the Cubs have, watch for them to continue on a tear and contend for the Wild Card for the rest of the season. Nomar Garciaparra will be another bat added to the lineup in a couple of weeks, and the pitching staff has the potential to be absolutely lights out. Nobody wants to see this team in the playoffs, especially in a shortened series where they would face Prior, Wood and Zambrano.

Though the NL Wild Card may be the third-best race this season, there is still potential for a lot of fireworks down the homestretch and into October.

ESPY-cially Wrong

By Dhruva Jaishankar

Curiosity caused me to turn on my television on Sunday night to watch the 13th annual ESPY Award ceremony. The ESPYs (pronounced “es-pees”) are ESPN’s attempt to bring the flash and dazzle of Hollywood’s award ceremonies to the world of sports, with the fans voting online in a host of categories. The show definitely had its highs (the tear-jerkingly inspirational stories of disabled athletes Jim MacLaren and Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah) and lows (Matthew Perry’s frequently dweebish stand-up routine). But after it was over, I was left shaking my head at some of the nominees and winners.

The biggest winners by far were Curt Schilling and the Boston Red Sox. Or rather, Schilling’s now-legendary bloody, bandaged ankle and David Ortiz’s ALCS heroics. Schilling won the award for Best Championship Performance, while the Red Sox were voted ‘Best Team’ and Game 5 of the Yankees-Red Sox series was adjudged ‘Best Game.’ I thought I saw revisionist history in the remaking. While Game 5 was possibly the most exciting baseball game of the last decade and Schilling gave a powerful performance on the mound, the fans appear to have forgotten that the Sox only made the post-season on a wild-card and stumbled through the ALCS until the home stretch. Can one really place the Red Sox above a USC football team that went undefeated, or a New England Patriots dynasty that had a 21 game unbeaten streak or even a Baylor women’s basketball team that won 20 straight to finish the season, including three wins over top seeds?

Should Maria Sharapova have won ‘Best Female Tennis Player’ when she won only one Grand Slam and has yet to reach No. 1 in the rankings? Or was Mia Hamm more deserving of the ‘Best Soccer Player’ award than MLS star Eddie Johnson, or female World Player of the Year Brigit Prinz, or the men’s World Player of the Year Ronaldinho?

ESPN watchers obviously thought so. But I was left disillusioned: SportsNation, I realized, was just a sucker for hype and commercial value.

The Red Sox had a great year in 2004, finishing with the second best American League record and an incredible post-season run. But everyone will remember it for being the year the Sox managed to overcome the infamous ‘Curse of the Bambino.’ Sharapova, proved she was no Anna Kournikova by winning Wimbledon, but then again she’s no Svetlana Kuznetsova. Her looks and marketing potential mean she will probably be this year’s highest paid female athlete. And Mia Hamm has been a cover story her entire career, making soccer the leading past time of pre-pubescent American females.

While the fan’s selection appears to have coincided with Hollywood producers’ and advertising agents’, I was equally disappointed by the choices they were given by whoever decided the nominations.

Are Annika Sorenstam, Seimone Augustus, Natalie Coughlin and Sharapova really the four most accomplished female athletes of the past year? And are Lance Armstrong, Peyton Manning, Bode Miller, Michael Phelps and Vijay Singh really the best male athletes?

How come Michael Schumacher, Roger Federer, Lindsay Davenport and Brigit Prinz were snubbed? Schumacher dominated the world’s most prestigious auto-racing circuit for a record seventh title, Federer proved himself to be far and away the best tennis player in the world, Davenport recovered her top ranking and Prinz is widely believed to be the best female soccer player in the world. The quick and dirty answers: Federer and Schumacher are foreign. Davenport is plain-looking. And Prinz is both.

The ESPYs chose to forego the celebration of sporting achievement in favor of celebrating sop-stories – Mia Hamm’s accomplished career coming to an end, Reggie Miller’s retirement, Lance Armstrong’s continuing dominance after coming back from cancer and Schilling’s ankle. They also celebrated flashy play (Dwayne Wade’s on-court heroics and Blake Hoffarber’s last second shot from lying down) and sex appeal (Sharapova and Danica Patrick). It was as if ESPN’s Page 3 editors had organized the entire gala.

I don’t mean to downplay the achievements of Sharapova or Patrick or Wade or Schilling: they are all great sportspeople. But many times during the night, I felt like Sports lingered in a distant second place.

Without a Trace

By Nick Matkovich

Why don't I appreciate Rafeal Palmeiro? I mean he has 3000 hits, 500 homeruns, needs a pill to achieve a homerun in the real field of dreams, yet I cannot bring myself to put him at my personal baseball head table.

Don't get me wrong, I realize what type of select company Palmeiro is a part of. To be in a group of 3000 hit 500 homerun heroes Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Eddie Murray shows you are a part of baseball royalty, but I do not have a defining Rafeal Palmeiro moment. Every great player has a defining moment. A time where you hold the baseball world in your hand, like Mays' over the shoulder catch, or Joe DiMaggio collecting hits in 56 consecutive games.

Do you have a defining Rafeal Palmeiro moment? Aside from Baltimore Oriole or Texas Ranger fans I would find it very difficult for even die-hard baseball fans to remember Palmeiro doing something that leaves an imprint on your mind. The thing Palmeiro will most be remembered for will be Viagra commercials.

Sometimes I wonder if the stat peeps running the show for Major League Baseball slipped up and gave Palmeiro 2 hits for every game where he had only one. It just seems his hits came out of nowhere and here he stands in baseball elitism.

Another factor for Palmeiro's inability to steal my baseball heart is because he was never the dominant player at his position for his entire career. Names like Frank Thomas and Jeff Bagwell and more recently Albert Pujols have been the face of the position. I find it very hard to believe that Palmeiro was the gold standard for first basemen. Palmeiro is always in the team picture but he's certainly not in the front row.

I am not trying to take anything away from Palmeiro because I realize the magnitude of what he has accomplished, but he's not the first face I think of when I hear "first base" or "legend." Congratulations to Raffy for being the symbol of consistency. Going about your business in any field for 20 years is something to be admired especially when you do your job well, but consistency doesn't sell tickets or make me hit "29" on my remote control to turn on "Baseball Tonight."

I am not diminishing Palmeiro's Hall of Fame candidacy. He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame and his numbers certainly back up that statement. Yet I don't think there will ever be a Hall of Famer who leaves less of an impact on Major League Baseball's mind than Rafeal Palmeiro.

Beginner's Luck

By Jake Brown - Indiana Daily Student

Can you imagine, just for a second, a sport where amateurs can time after time beat professionals? That is the world of a professional poker player at the recently concluded World Series of Poker, where the turn of a card can send the professional packing. For the past three years an amateur has outlasted the world’s best poker players to claim some of the richest prizes in all of sport.

This year was another record setting year; 5619 entrants ponied up the $10,000 entry fee. Of those 5619 entrants, nine made the final table, and all of them left as millionaires. An Australian by the name of Joseph Hachem took home the championship, which includes a gold bracelet commemorating his victory and a cool $7.5 million. Never heard of Mr. Hachem? Me either, and that is why the World Series of Poker Championship is one of the greatest events in sport.

Hachem achieved something that many people dream about every day, competing at a top level in their favorite past time. The only difference is that in poker he can actually do it. I’m never going to be able to step into the batters box and swat a home run off of Randy Johnson, heck I couldn’t even hit a home run in rookie ball, but I’ve surely dreamt about it.

At the WSOP anybody can step in and compete against the best players in the world and actually stand a legit chance of coming out with the victory. Sure the odds aren’t exactly great; weeding your way through 5000 some people isn’t exactly easy money. But where else can someone drop down some dough (or win your seat through a variety of less expensive satellites) and shoot the bull with the best players to play the game. Go ahead and try to get Shaq to play one-on-one, I don’t think he’ll take.

The best thing is that just entering gives you the chance to go home with some serious cash. Since luck does play a factor, literally anybody can win. That is what makes the WSOP such a great event, and such compelling television. You, me, your granny, anybody can win.

While poker still struggles to get credit as a legitimate sporting event, I believe that it is one of the finest displays of pure sport that can be found anywhere. At the poker table everyone is equal, and the cards do the talking, no matter who you are. After all is said and done the pros do most of the winning, but the amateurs can still hold their own, which is a rare and unique quality for an event that can make millionaires out of anybody.

Hall of Popularity

By Greg Kelminson

Welcome to elite status Rafael Palmeiro. On Friday night, Rafael Palmeiro became only the 26th player in the history of Major League Baseball to record 3,000 hits. He is only the fourth player in history to record 3,000 hits and 500 homeruns during his career. He is a career .290 hitter with a .372 on base percentage. He has won three gold gloves, two silver sluggers, and is a four-time all-star. Surely these numbers merit him being inducted into the hall of fame; however, writers and fans alike seem to be disagreement over this issue.

Rafael Palmeiro may not be the flashiest player in the world. He doesn’t possess the charisma that a Ken Griffey Jr. holds (although he is Viagra’s most marketable persona). He has never won a championship or even made it to a world series. He is relatively quiet and prefers to lay low and not be the center of attention. These are the points critics of Rafael Palmeiro point to as evidence that Rafael Palmeiro is not hall of fame worthy.

Unfortunately, what these critics fail to realize is that the hall of fame should not be a popularity contest. If that were the case than maybe a Mitch Williams would have been inducted. The hall of fame should be and usually is designated for the best of the best. The real question is, is Rafael Palmeiro among the best ever to play the game. I will concede that Rafael Palmeiro is not in the same class as Babe Ruth, but is Rafael Palmeiro worse than a Bill Mazeroski. Bill Mazeroski was a lifetime .260 hitter. No doubt he was a terrific defensive players, but his offensive numbers were lagging. How about a more recent comparison: Eddie Murray. Eddie Murray was inducted in 2003. Eddie Murray was a career .287 hitter. He has 504 homeruns and over 3000 hits. Those numbers look awfully similar to Rafael Palmeiro’s.

Rafael Palmeiro deserves a spot in the hall of fame. His numbers are on par with his peers. His longegivty should be rewarded not punished. Most baseball players do not last anywhere near the 19 plus years that Rafael Palmeiro has played. He may not be the flashiest player, but when you talk about what you want in a ball player, Rafael Palmeiro is the guy you start with.

Mixed Golf?

By Brian Weaver

Contrary to what you might have heard, Michelle Wie wasn’t the only competitor at the Amateur Public Links tournament this week. The media made so much of the teen phenom’s having two “x” chromosomes that it’s easy to overlook the fact that she’s also got some serious game. The fact that she’s trying to pit herself against men in competition really has some people on edge. So why not take a lesson from tennis?

Anna Kournikova spoiled Steffi Graf’s return to the tennis court on Tuesday when the Russian beat the Graf 5-4 in singles, then took down her doubles team 5-2. Kournikova’s Sacramento Capitals rode her victories to an overall win, 21-18, over the Houston Wranglers.

Two things intrigued me about this. First, Anna Kournikova won a match. Sure, Graf’s had two children since her heyday, and hasn’t seen stiff competition for years, but Kournikova doesn’t usually make it out of the second round. Second, I didn’t know any big names played team tennis. I’d heard of the league, but figured it was all just players who hadn’t made the cut for the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). So, like any guy with a computer and some free time, I got online to find out what I could about World Team Tennis. It was pretty educational.

Each team has male and female members. The league’s format is a combination of singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. Each meet features five sets: men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles, and mixed doubles.

On one hand, it’s amazing to see the kinds of players that find their way into the mix. In recent years, the list of stars in the league has featured all kinds of stars beyond their prime who still look to play the game. In this century’s first decade, Patrick Rafter, Monica Seles, Martina Navratilova, Mardy Fish, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors all played at one point or another. But on the other hand, it’s not just old pros looking for a good time. Lots of players have taken a turn while on top of their game. The second-best player in the world, Andy Roddick, has played in the league since 2000. Lindsay Davenport, a perennial threat to the top spot on the women’s tour, has also played the entire current decade.

Now, let’s tie this back to golf. With the emergence of Annika Sorenstam over the past few years, the LPGA has become more or less a competition for second place. So, she’s looked to play on the PGA tour. Wie currently wants to do the same thing. If golf were to develop a league similar to WTT, they’d get a chance to play against men with regularity, leaving the regular tour seasons to be divided by sex. Tennis does a good job balancing the two: no women are trying to play against men, and if they feel so inclined, they can play a mixed doubles match. WTT’s cast of characters has included several major stars, even if they only want to make a guest appearance like Graf did (she hasn’t made clear yet if she’ll keep playing). Golf could do exactly the same thing.

The scoring system could be similar to the Ryder Cup format, albeit probably with less players. Golfers could compete in one-on-one stroke rounds; match play; best ball, foursomes, etc. There are several different styles the golfers could compete in. It would present a situation even better than WTT’s. Women could play with men in best ball, something in which the pair works as a team. But then women could face men in stroke play or match play to set up a purely male vs. female match, which is what proponents of Wie, Sorenstam, etc. want.

But eliminating the gender gap is just the beginning of what team golf could do. It also solves a problem that some have with golf: four straight days of watching the same golfers play the same course in the same fashion. Granted, some events have Stableford scoring, and others are match play. But generally, it’s the same game four days in a row. The league would have the appeal of a Ryder Cup type of tournament, and each contest would be two different teams.

A league would also present a regional quality that the average golf fan never gets to experience. Teams would have a home course, and likely a nice one at that. A team in California could play its matches at Pebble Beach, a Georgia team could play at Augusta (c’mon, Hootie, do it for the sake of the game!), others at Sawgrass, Pinehurst…the possibilities are endless! And fans wouldn’t just have to root for a player each weekend. They could root for the local team. The home-field advantages would be great: players would play these tough courses during practice, and thus know the course better; and they’d have a gallery rooting for them, not just for whoever’s doing well that weekend.

And much like WTT, golfers like Jack Nicklaus, Hale Irwin, and Laurie Davies can take the places of Connors, McEnroe, and Navratilova, playing matches well past their prime just to stay sharp and have fun. Meanwhile, Tiger, Phil and the rest of the guys can play regularly (like Roddick), or just from time to time (like Graf’s stint).

I suppose the primary concern of anybody willing to venture into the choppy waters of turning an individual sport into a team contest faces the ultimate challenge: profit. And the sad truth is that team golf, no matter how exciting the prospect, has a very real danger of selling like Vanilla Ice’s comeback album. But if it’ll solve the dividing issue of women playing on the men’s tour, maybe it’s worth a shot.

It's Back Baby!

By J. Slavich

Maybe the title of the column shows too much excitement. The NHL is back . . . probably. The press is buzzing with the news that the National Hockey League and the NHL Player’s Association have reached an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement. Although both sides have yet to sit down and sign the agreement, it seems that the NHL has returned.

Of course, the agreement is good news for the fans and the sport. Die-hard hockey fans have been left without any good substitute for an entire hockey season this last year. It only took 301 days for the owners and players to solve their problems.

Many in the media have begun to ask who came out the winner in this new collective bargaining agreement? The answer: the owners. Although the agreement has not been made public, ESPN is reporting that it includes a salary cap, revenue sharing, baseball style arbitration, and a 24% reduction in player’s salaries.

With all these new additions, the owners finally got what they wanted, and the players refusal to come to the table earlier resulted in a worse bargaining agreement than they could have reached initially. The new arrangement will help the revenues and profits of the owners, what they had wanted from the beginning. The salary cap and the initial reduction of players’ salaries are going to give the owners an edge in the future at being able to create profits, or so they hope.

The owners and players have forgotten who the real losers have been in the last 310 days – the fans. This could be a fatal mistake. The fans of hockey have been left out to dry for this last season. Who says the league is going to be welcomed back with open arms?

The league had enough trouble competing for attention with the NFL, the NBA, and Major League Baseball. Most fans have already gotten use to a year without hockey. The diehards might come back, but there are no assurances about the casual hockey fan. Neither the NHL nor the other major leagues have ever gone this long without a work stoppage. When baseball had its strike, the league was saved by the home run race of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. The NHL has no foreseeable saviors. Have the owners and players shot themselves in the foot by keeping the fans waiting?

Barryless Baseball is Good Baseball

By Darren Grossman

In a recent interview, baseball commissioner Bud Selig defended Barry Bonds, saying the slugger has never been convicted of anything.

According to the Associated Press, Selig said of Bonds, “"Barry hasn't been convicted of anything. It's unfair at this point," he said of those who criticize the outfielder. "The sport is having a great year. Has Barry's absence helped or hurt? I don't know, I really don't know."

Well, Mr. Selig, let me answer the question for you. The sport is having a great year because Barry Bonds is not there. We are all sick and tired of seeing him cheat his way to a record. Recently, Scott Miller of CBS Sportsline wrote an article that asked Mr. Bonds to please stay away forever, and not to tarnish the record books any further. I couldn’t agree more.

Bonds has tarnished the record books enough for my lifetime, and I hope the slugger never sets foot on a baseball diamond again, unless its at an old timers day at the ballpark.

Is Bonds a great player? Of course he is, and Bonds was even great before the steroid controversy came his way. Bonds was good enough to win several Gold Glove awards and was probably already a Hall of Famer before he started hitting 70 HRs in a season.
With that being said, the recent controversy hurt Bonds’ image and would make me never put him among the likes of Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and Willie Mays. That being said, Bonds should still be in the Hall of Fame because he is a great baseball player, and that is what the Hall is about.

It’s the same argument that I will make in a future column with Pete Rose. The Hall of Fame is for the great baseball players, not the really nice guys. If you want to make a Hall of Fame of nice guys, don’t include Bonds. Bonds has always been arrogant, rude to the media, and just a guy that most people despise because his ego is so big it takes up the entire state of California.

In a spring training interview, Bonds went for the sympathy vote when he blamed the media for his problems, and told them that they finally won, they finally got to him. Well, why doesn’t everyone just play a swan song on the world’s smallest violin for Mr. Bonds? You expect people to feel bad for you, Mr. Bonds? After you cheated your way into the record books? I don’t need any steroid test to give me any answers, all I need to do is look at Barry Bonds on the Pirates and Barry Bonds on the Giants and the answer is clear enough for me.

If you want sympathy or respect from the fans again, Mr. Bonds, be honest with baseball. Come right out and say that you have used steroids to help you break records. Apologize for doing it, and ask for forgiveness. Only then will I ever want to watch Barry Bonds on a baseball diamond again. Only then will I give Bonds respect as an athlete. You might be a great player, Barry, but you’ve struck out in the game of life. That’s so much more important than what you have done on a diamond.

Dreaming of Dominican Dominance

By Troy Eason

The year was 1992. For the first time in any team competition, a team dominated their opponents like none had done before. I speak, of course, of the USA Dream Team.

Jordan, Magic, Bird, Barkley, Drexler, Pippen. They were the hype and face of the Barcelona Summer Olympics and were considered by many to be the single greatest sports team ever assembled. Everyone knew they would win the gold, but no one expected them to dominate the way they did.

Michael Jordan once said, “It wasn’t a question of if we’d win, but how much we’d win by.” No one believes another team like this will ever come around again. However, a potential baseball juggernaut is in the works for the upcoming World Cup of Baseball scheduled for early 2006. If everything sets up right, this team will be the single greatest baseball team ever…period.

They will make the 1927 Yankees look like a team full of spares. Keep in mind this Yankees team had players by the names of Ruth and Gherig. Not only will this iconic team win the World Cup of Baseball, they will dominate it.

This team will rule the world of baseball because every breath and every drop of blood from the people of this country is about baseball. Children grow up on baseball here, playing with anything they can find from rocks and sticks to tennis balls and metal pipes.

The true passion and love they have for the game is what makes them such amazing players. Baseball may be “America’s Pastime”, but it is most definitely the Dominican Republic’s way of life.

Imagine, if you can, a nine-player lineup with five or six legitimate MVP candidates, a three-man starting rotation with three Cy Young quality pitchers, and a bullpen that could save 100 games a year. This lineup of stars could probably drive in enough runs to support themselves, the Devil Rays, and the Royals for a whole season…maybe two.

Please, for a moment, hold your breath as I give the starting lineup of my 2006 Dominican Republic National Team along with their 2004 statistics for batting average, home runs, and RBIs:

AVG. HR RBI
1. Alfonso Soriano – 2B .280 28 91
2. Sandy Martinez* – C -- -- --
3. Albert Pujols – 1B .331 46 123
4. Vladimir Guerrero – RF .339 39 126
5. David Ortiz – DH .301 41 139
6. Manny Ramirez – LF .308 43 130
7. Miguel Tejada – SS .311 34 150
8. Aramis Ramirez – 3B .318 36 103
9. Jose Guillen – CF .294 27 104
Wins ERA Ks
SP: Pedro Martinez 16 3.90 227
*plays for Dominican’s Tigers del Licey

If you haven’t passed out or hidden under your bed yet, imagine a bench of Sammy Sosa, Moises Alou, Luis Castillo, and Adrian Beltre. If Pedro isn’t getting the job done, throw out Bartolo Colon or Freddy Garcia. And in the unlikely event that the DR isn’t winning by more than 20 runs by the ninth, the bullpen boasts Francisco Cordero, Armando Benitez, Yhency Brazoban, and Guillermo Mota.

Speechless??? So am I.

Struck Out

By Dhruva Jaishankar

In May, Major League Baseball unveiled next year’s first annual World Baseball Classic, a flashy, international pre-season tournament featuring professional players from sixteen countries. Fast forward to early July, when the International Olympic Committee decided to cut baseball and softball from its 2012 lineup, and suddenly the potential of exporting America’s Pastime overseas looks bleak. Baseball and softball now join polo, pelote, croquet, rink-hockey and tug-of-war on the illustrious list of ex-Olympic sports.

While the American delegates at last week’s IOC conference in Singapore were left shaking their heads in disbelief at the vote, it should not have come as such a surprise.

Both sports were enormous drains on resources and space, had limited television viewership and often lacked high levels of competition (the Americans outscored their opponents 51-1 in nine softball games at Athens).

London’s winning Olympic proposal involved building two stadiums for the sports, costing 50 million pounds, in Regent Park, a home run away from the London zoo. The temporary baseball stadium would have had to have been torn down after the games while the softball field would have been left for use by the softball-playing population of London. I imagine the organizers are now breathing a sigh of relief.

The baseball world, on the other hand, should be panicking. The Olympics are the best way of garnering the recognition and interest of an international audience and in the past few decades they have shed their mantle as champions of amateur athletes, with restrictions currently in place only on men’s football (soccer) and boxing.

With pro players allowed to participate, the Major Leagues should have raised their anti-doping policy to Olympic standards and altered their schedule to allow their players to compete in the summer games. Instead, the MLB’s apathy meant that an amateur U.S. team could not even qualify for the 2004 Olympiad. The MLB had the ideal vehicle for marketing themselves to a foreign audience and they stubbornly refused to take it. Instead they’re banking on the Classic – a great idea in principle, but ultimately too little, too late.

I wish the Major Leagues the best of luck with the Classic. But with everyone from Bobby Valentine to Fidel Castro to George Steinbrenner threatening to throw it a curveball, the tournament could end up being a low-profile, pre-season mess.

Baffling Braves

By Nick Matkovich

With names like Johnson, Orr, Marte, Francouer, and Langerhans all in one place it would be safe to assume that the United Nations called an emergency meeting. Rather, those are some of the names that dotted the box score for the Atlanta Braves when they defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 2-1 on Friday night.

Gone are the names of Maddux, Sheffield, Castilla, Lopez, and Glavine replaced by a group of young guns that have the Braves primed to win his thirteenth division title in a row.

I can't figure out the secret to the Braves' success otherwise I would have at least found a job running the Royals, but year in and year out they always seem to make it to the post season.

Last week the Braves swept the Cubs in a four game series in Turner Field where Kerry Wood, Greg Maddux, and Mark Prior were all defeated by a group of under assuming Braves' pitchers, showcasing the strangle-hold they have on the National League for so long.

Different people will come up with different theories as to why the Braves have been so good for so long but I believe the biggest reason they have succeeded is because they do not fall in love with their players.

They did not let affection for players get in the way of their winning. It's all well and good to recognize the accomplishments of what your players have done but a pat on the back and a fine word out the door is much cheaper than a five year contract and a declining on-base percentage..

I applaud what the Braves have done especially since their payroll has a much lower ceiling than it used to. They have had to make some tough decisions in terms of not re-signing players but they have kept winning in the process. This Ellis Island of baseball has seen many a player walk through it but a few stick around such as John Smoltz, Andrew Jones, and Chipper Jones. It's sad that the most famous person wearing a hat with an "a" on it is Usher.

Besides giving Cox credit it is important to applaud the front office, especially general manager John Schuerholz. Someone with a keen eye for talent, Schuerholz knows exactly what his team needs to compete for a World Series title each season. Schuerholz does not fall in love with his players and if someone offers an Atlanta free agent a contract that does not fit Schuerholz standards it's "thanks for the memories."

The final man working behind the scenes to throw bouquets of tomahawk chops to is pitching coach Leo Mazzone. Mazzone, the man who has perfected the art of sitting in an imaginary rocking chair, has resurrected more careers than the "Surreal Life." Pitchers who I would have felt comfortable grabbing a bat from the rack against suddenly become dominant under Leo. In fact, I think Russ Ortiz should make monthly payments to Mazzone for helping him thief that mega contract from the Arizona Diamondbacks.

While October is a time for the return of football, and goofs cross-dressing on the thirty-first, it also signals a second season of baseball each year in Atlanta.

Red Tee's: The New Thing

By Jake Brown

Michelle Wie proved something to the nation this weekend. Sure she missed the cut at the John Deere Classic, but she proved to everyone that she is quickly becoming the biggest thing to happen in the golf world since Tiger Woods rose to superstardom.

I’ll admit to tuning into the tournament on Friday afternoon. Under normal circumstances I would only see the highlights of the John Deere on ESPN, but I was willing to sacrifice some of my valuable time to see if this teen sensation could do what not even Annika Sorenstam could do, make the cut at a PGA Tour event.

If it weren’t for a total meltdown on the final two holes of her tournament, she would have been the first woman since Babe Didrikson Zaharias in 1945 to make the cut at a PGA event. It’s hard to say woman though, after all, she’s only 15.

At 15 she seems to possess more raw talent than any one person should possess. However, she needs to hone her game on the women’s tour, not the men’s tour. Only when she proves that she can go out and beat the golfers on her own tour should she begin to play PGA events regularly.

I’m all for her competing against the men, just not right now. She could be a real asset for the LPGA Tour. As a matter of fact, all of her publicity, along with that of Sorenstam’s and other young superstars in waiting, is leading the LPGA Tour into a renaissance of sorts. She is capabale of reviving the LPGA Tour similar to the way Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa brought baseball back to the forefront of the American sports in 1998, or how LeBron James is using his phenom status to kickstart the NBA again. She owes it to the LPGA and to herself to grow up on that tour. It will be easier for her to experience success there, and once she learns how to win she should really be a force to be reckoned with.

Wie has a chance to dominate the LPGA Tour in a fashion that would put even Tiger’s dominance to shame. Once she learns how to do that she’ll be able to step onto the PGA Tour with high profile success under her belt, as well as the confidence and mental toughness that it takes to compete late on a Sunday afternoon against the best golfers the PGA Tour can provide.

The Death of the Doubles Specialist

By Dhruva Jaishankar

The press has been gushing over the resurgence of Venus Williams and the sheer dominance of Roger Federer at last month’s Wimbledon. But a major development in the world of tennis has been much overlooked.

The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the federation that organizes the men’s professional tennis circuit, has decided to make some key changes to the men’s doubles game in an effort to widen its popularity. Firstly, sets have been reduced so that the winner is the first to win five games. A tie-breaker is to be played after 4-4. But more importantly, the ATP has stated that top singles players will be given priority in the doubles draws beginning next year. Also, beginning in 2008, a new doubles entry system will be initiated that takes into account a doubles players’ singles records. In addition, with the exception of a handful of wild cards and a few other qualifiers, only players who qualify for singles draws will be eligible to play in doubles tournaments. The tour organizers are hoping the popularity of the doubles game will increase the participation of star singles players. “The long-term result of the ranking changes will mean most of the doubles teams will be made up of players from the singles draw,” explained ATP Europe President Horst Klosterkemper.

Unfortunately, this could have severe ramifications for the quality of the game. Of the top twenty doubles players in the world, only nine have played in ATP singles tournaments in 2005. Of these, only four are top 100 singles players. Only two of those players – Wayne Arthurs and Max Mirnyi – have had consistent success in the singles game, and only one – Arthurs – has won a singles title this year. If the ATP’s agenda is followed through, as few as two or three top doubles specialists will regularly feature in doubles tournaments throughout the year.

At the same time, top singles players rarely play doubles because a) they’re often not as good as doubles specialists and b) they don’t want to risk further injury. Of the top five singles players in the world, Rafael Nadal chose to enter six doubles draws this year, Marat Safin entered five, while Roger Federer, Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick entered two apiece. Of the five only Nadal and Federer have won doubles titles in 2005, and only one each at that. The shorter sets, as well as certain scheduling changes, are the ATP’s way of encouraging singles players to participate, but unless matches are shortened to a best of three format, the reformed scoring system is unlikely to entice too many players.

What the tour appears to have forgotten is that the singles and doubles games are so different. Doubles is, in essence, a team sport and not all singles players are comfortable sharing half a court with a teammate. Doubles is also often faster paced and relies on better net play and crisper volleying.

The ATP’s attempts at reforming the sport have historically proven a mixed bag, but they have been responsible for some remarkable failures. For example, they introduced the INDESIT ATP Race as a substitute for the older rankings system in 2000. It was supposed to make the tennis season seem more like a ‘season,’ with an end of the year championship tournament and a year-end points champion. But the race rankings matter little outside the two months between the year-end championships and the start of the new season (“It’s January, and Fernando Gonzalez is leading the ATP points race!”) The women’s tour, not surprisingly, has not followed suit.

I foresee the change in the doubles format being a similar flop. Non-doubles specialists will be playing reluctantly, if at all, in a mode with which they are not comfortable. Top singles players will be plagued by more frequent injuries and will succumb more easily to strain. And with the shorter sets, weaker teams will be going farther in tournaments.

The ATP was created to watch out for the interests of professional male tennis players. With this latest motion, I don’t think they’re doing their job. And a whole lot of doubles specialists will most likely agree.

Forgetting the "Sports" in Sports Entertainment

By Emin Avakian

True. July is not a great month if you are a sports fan or if you cover sports for a living. True. The sport’s world is in desperate need of more sporting events this month. True. ESPN needs to air something other than the MLB marathon regular season.

But what is up with all these wannabe sports being portrayed as real sports on TV? If I offend anybody’s favorite “sport,” then I apologize ahead of time.

Let me define what a sport is. It is an activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.

Basketball, football, baseball, tennis, hockey, among others are sports. They fit the description.

Lately, a hot dog eating contest, people playing poker, and a league called NASCAR have been on ESPN. ESPN is a channel strictly for sports, for those of you who have been living in a cave.

The question I have is why are these activities being called sports? As a huge sports fanatic, I take offense to athletes who are not athletes calling themselves, well, athletes. The media has apparently been brain-washed, because they have no idea what they are doing.

For example, Skip Bayless of ESPN2’s Cold Pizza had the audacity to call Takeru Kobayashi talented, and also said the ludicrous statement that a hot dog eating contest is a sport. By the way, Kobayashi ate the most hot dogs in a contest in New York for the fifth straight year. He gobbled down 49 dogs in 12 minutes, and just missed his record of 53 ½ he set last year.

Come again Skip? Since when is eating an excessive amount of lunch a sport?
Kobayashi is not an athlete. Kobayashi is not talented. Kobayashi just knows how to eat a ton of hot dogs in a short period of time. Nothing more.

The 2005 World of Series of Poker is coming up! Let’s all get in front of the television and watch a bunch of low-life men playing cards!

The fact that this event is being promoted on ESPN is tragic. Playing poker is not a sport. Playing poker is a hobby that some have mastered more than others. Similar to Golf, but I’ll give golf a little bit of slack.

Here’s my prediction for the 2005 World Series of Poker: some overweight, single man will win it, because playing poker is all that he has been doing for the past year.
Oh, yesterday I was driving and a beautiful sports car just sped right past me. Did I say, “he’s really good at that sport?” Nope. Did I say, “now that’s a great athlete?” Nope.

Newsflash: Race car driving is not a sport. The drivers you see on the NASCAR circuit are not doing anything extraordinary, they are just making a bunch of left turns over and over and over again.

ESPN, how about you stop all this nonsense and show us some real athletes participating in real sports.

Here are some suggestions:
-gymnastics
-beach volleyball
-swimming
-track & field
Thank you, and bring on the comments.

Raising the Red Flag

By Blake Skinner

Red Sox Nation has put itself in an unnecessary panic mode. With the injury to closer Keith Foulke and the emerging recovery of Curt Schilling, it looks as if Manager Terry Francona and the Red Sox are going to move their recovering ace to the closer role. This may be the biggest mistake the Red Sox have made since Grady Little left Pedro Martinez in too long during the 2004 ALCS.

Although Schilling isn’t strong enough to become a starting pitcher, he should not be the closer. Schilling is one of the premier pitchers in the Majors. It would be a waste to only use him for one inning a game. If you have a pitcher with the qualities of Schilling, you need him on the mound for as long as you can get him.

This would be the equivalent of the Miami Heat leaving Shaq on the bench until five minutes left in the 4th quarter. He may be more rested and play the best five minutes of his life but he could help the team out a lot more if he played the whole game.

Also, it isn’t like the Sox are in September and have no other options. There is still more than two weeks till the trade deadline and Sox have plenty of bargaining chips to bring in a quality closer.

Not to mention, they already have a guy who is probably even more qualified for the job than Schilling in Mike Timlin. Timlin has already saved two games for the Sox this year and has a 1.30 ERA in 41 appearances. Timlin also, has the experience of coming out of the bullpen on short notice and pitching well. Schilling on the other hand, is use to tossing 60 warm-up pitches before he ever hits the mound. That’s a luxury closing pitchers may not have as Johnny Damon has publicly pointed out.

By putting Schilling in the closing roll, it just delays the problem. Once Schilling is healthy enough to start, then you go through the whole problem again and by that time it’s past the trading deadline.

If the Sox want to put Schilling in the bullpen till he’s healthy enough to start, that’s fine but not as the closer. Right now, the Red Sox have two logical options: Timlin or acquire a closer via trade. Why Schilling is even being considered any option is beyond logical comprehension.

To compete in one of the toughest divisions in baseball and in the playoffs, the Red Sox are going to need Schilling for every inning they can get. To put him in a new situation, that would as a temporary fix to problem that need a permanent answer. It would just be another chapter in a franchise’s history which is filled with blunders.

Fan to the Death

By Brian Weaver

James Henry Smith has just fulfilled the American Dream.

No, not Manifest Destiny. And not the equal-opportunity nation that will yield a prosperous life for all. Smith, a die-hard Steelers fan who died last week of prostate cancer, took advantage of the slow moving disease to make arrangements for exactly the kind of funeral he wanted. The Samuel E. Coston Funeral Home set up a room to look like Smith’s living room on a Sunday afternoon. They set up a television, then laid the deceased out in an easy chair, legs crossed, in black and gold pajamas. A pack of cigarettes and a beer flanked his body while a remote control kept silent vigil nearby. A tape of Steelers highlights looped on the television.

I’d be lying if I said this didn’t absolutely thrill me. Nothing bothers me more than hearing, “Didn’t he look like himself?” at funerals in which the guest of honor is laid out like a wax dummy, stiff as a two-by-four. This guy looked not just like himself, but like America. He did what every sports fan always says he’s going to do, laying himself to rest in his team’s colors.

It got me to thinking what I want my own room to look like once I go. I figure I’ve got a good sixty years left if I play my cards right, but one can never start planning soon enough. So for starters, I want a guy outside the room I’m being kept in with one of the big signs from the Masters that says, “Quiet!” It’s a funeral home, after all. To get into the room, I want people to have to walk through a turnstile from Ebbets’ Field or Polo Grounds. I know, it’s a stretch, but there has to be one left somewhere.

Next, I’ll need a sofa and a television. Not a huge TV, but one big enough that I can set bobbleheads of each Phillies Hall of Famer across the top. (That includes broadcaster Harry Kalas.) On the tube, I want a loop of the Miracle on Ice playing. But, it can’t end with “Do you believe in miracles???” at the end of the game. Instead, it has to run all the way to the players all cramming themselves onto the one tiny podium. Then it can loop back.

The television will be against one wall, while the sofa will sit against the opposite wall. I want to be laid out in kind of a sprawled position, with a big picture of Muhammad Ali standing over me in the follow-through of one of his huge right uppercuts. That way, it’ll look like The Greatest knocked me into the next life. While I’m laying there, I want to be in a Lou Gehrig jersey, a plain, pin-striped number. The Iron Horse faced a worse end to his life than man could previously imagine, but faced it with more courage than a soldier. I can only hope that when I go, I do so with as much dignity and character.

However, I’m not a beer fan, and I don’t smoke. So on one side of me, I’ll take Turkey Hill iced tea. (You’d have to be local to get that one; it’s the official beverage of the Lancaster County, Penn. sports fan.) On the other, I’ll need a cell phone instead of the cigarettes. Dad and I are both really close even though I’m on the other side of the Keystone State, so “watching” games together requires a cell phone. Every event features at least a dozen 15-second calls of, “Didja see that? Awesome, huh? Okay, bye!”

Also, I want a fireplace on one wall. In the fireplace, I want a fire that burns purely on fuel provided by the torching of scorecards from Game 6 of the 1993 World Series. Above the fireplace, I want a picture of the 1999 U.S. Ryder Cup team celebrating their amazing victory. Across the front of the mantel, where hopeful kids hang stockings, I want instead a replica of the Notre Dame “play like a champion today” banner. I can’t stand Notre Dame, but hey, it’s a great saying.

The top of the mantel needs a few things, too. First and foremost, I need a ball with its cover blown off, just like the ball Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez hits in The Sandlot. It’ll remind people of that movie, make them remember how nice it was to be a kid, and hopefully help them to never forget to have fun, just like the film always does for me. Also, I want two cleats. One will come from Pelé. I don’t care which foot the cleat comes from. I just want to have a piece of the soccer player who wasn’t quite a god, but was definitely more than human. The other will be one of the ones Diego Maradona wore during the victory over England in the ’86 World Cup. In the very middle of the mantel, of course, will stand want my favorite picture, Dad with his hand on my 12 year-old shoulder in a shot from Little League.

The final wall will be covered in pictures. I want a shot of Carlton Fisk waving his ball fair. I want the picture of the Brooklyn Dodgers from the cover of Roger Kahn’s The Boys of Summer, showing the first truly integrated team. I want Jordan over Ehlo, His Airness hanging infinitely just above his defender’s outstretched fingertips in what truly began the legend. I want Lance staring down Jan Ullrich in the Alps. I want Tyson fumbling for his mouthpiece after Buster Douglas floored him. I want Flutie in mid-air, celebrating his Hail Mary against Miami. I want Willie, Mickey, and the Duke in pictures right next to each other. I want Joe Namath running off the field after Super Bowl III.

Sure, it’ll probably take me my remaining decades to get my hands on this stuff. But I think in the end, it’ll be worth it.

The All-Star Burnout

By Jake Brown

The Major League Baseball All-Star game is just days away, and let me tell you I’m excited about seeing David Eckstein start at shortstop for the National League. Likewise, I’m just thrilled about seeing a broken-down Mike Piazza lumber behind the plate and try to convince the nation that he is still and All-Star caliber catcher. He’d better hope nobody tries to steal a base.

Eckstein, though a serviceable player, is not the best shortstop in the National League this year, and while nobody has really stood out at catcher in the NL, Piazza certainly isn’t the best at his position anymore. These are just two examples of a terribly flawed system for making out the roster for a game that is played with home field advantage for the World Series in the balance.

I’m all for having the fans doing the All-Star voting. Fans should be able to see who they want to see, but a line must be drawn somewhere. Let’s face it; Piazza is not having a season worthy of selection. Really, nobody is in the NL, but since somebody has to do the catching it should be Paul LoDuca starting behind the dish. His backup should be San Diego Padres receiver Ramon Hernandez, who has a higher batting average than Piazza, and trails him by a slim margin in both runs batted in and home runs.

Piazza’s selection is not the worst of it, though. Eckstein starting over Cincinnati Reds shortstop Felipe Lopez is a complete joke, and really proves to me the overall ignorance of many voting fans. Lopez leads all NL shortstops in every Triple Crown category. As a matter of fact, Lopez leads Eckstein in just about every major offensive category, save on-base percentage and runs scored.

When fans totally fail to recognize a season such as the one Lopez is having something must be done. I will grudgingly accept Piazza starting because he’s been a perennial selection for so long, but Lopez deserves to start the game at shortstop no matter who the fans want to see. I don’t think he should be riding the pine in favor of a guy whose slugging percentage is only 43 points higher than that of Carlos Zambrano.

In cases such as this, where a player is unjustly denied a start, the vote should be taken out of the hands of the fans. Perhaps fans should be able to vote for who they think should be on the roster, but the manager chooses who is to actually start the game.

All-Star snubs are just a part of the process, and in the grand scheme of things they don’t really matter. However, if Bud Selig wants me to believe that this game actually means something, then he should prove it by trying to clean up the selection process.

The Gambler's Fork in the Road

By Troy Eason

The recent exploits of Texas Rangers ace lefthander, Kenny Rogers, have left him at a dangerous fork in the roads of both his career and season. A longtime fan favorite and team superstar, Rogers is perilously close to free falling into what could be a career ending situation.

Everything began with a poor performance against AL West rivals the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim…or whatever they call themselves these days. Rogers gave up six runs on ten hits with no strikeouts and three walks over only 3.1 innings. This was by far his worst outing of the season and qualified as only his second “non-quality” start*. Rogers has always been a fierce competitor and hates to lose. However, for one reason or another, he decided to throw a temper tantrum in the dugout and punched a water cooler, shattering a bone in his non-throwing hand. Behavior like this is seen often with starting pitchers who are normally very hard on themselves for what seems like a failure in their minds. Rogers has rarely, if ever, demonstrated this lack of self-control, which makes his outburst so extraordinary. Perhaps he was frustrated with the Rangers’ lackluster performance as a team or perhaps he was upset at the idle contract extension talks from the front office. Whatever was upsetting the forty-year-old lefty got worse. On June 29th, Rogers walked up to a local news station’s cameraman, Larry Rodriguez, and shoved his camera, nearly knocking over Rodriguez in the process. When Rodriguez tried to pick up his camera, Rogers again pulled down on it and kicked it. A day later, Commissioner Bud Selig suspended Rogers for 20 games and fined him an undisclosed amount – rumor around the Metroplex is that the fine is in the neighborhood of $50,000. If Rogers wanted attention, he got it…and gave up several things in the process.

First, Rangers owner Tom Hicks, who also owns NHL powerhouse, the Dallas Stars, immediately halted contract talks with Rogers’ agent, Scot Boras. Even if the Rangers were going to match the ridiculous starting offer of 2-years, $25 million that Boras asked for, they certainly are going to do no such thing now (Rogers is in the last year of a 2-year, $6 million dollar deal). Secondly, many argue Rogers is one of the top five starters in the American League with the likes of Bartolo Colon, Jon Garland, Mark Buerhle, and Roy Halliday and was a serious All-Star candidate. Rogers nearly forfeited his rightful spot on the 2005 American League All-Star Team with his recent tirade (he was named to the team July 3rd). Finally, Rogers has placed himself in a precarious position for the rest of the season. If Rogers pitches badly until September, the world of baseball will view Mr. Rogers’ actions as another tirade of an overpaid, under-achieving, temperamental superstar wanting more money. However, should he continue hurling gems as he has done for the majority of the first half, the fans will more than likely brush these incidents off as nothing more than a competitor being competitive in trying to help his team win.

Kenny Rogers must decide which road he takes. The way he pitches for the rest of the year will determine not only how much money he will get next season, but will also determine the outcome of his legacy as well.

* a quality start is any game in which a pitcher goes six full innings and gives up three or fewer earned runs

Hollywood Scripts Lacking Leading Roles

By Ryan Phillips - Inidiana Daily Student

After the re-hiring of Phil Jackson, the Los Angeles Lakers seemed determined to put the past behind them. They brought back the coach who provided them with three world titles and seemed determined to erase the memories of the Shaq-era by continuing to reshape the roster around Kobe Bryant. So what did they do on draft night? They selected Andrew Bynum, a 7 foot 300 pound center hailing from New Jersey, an extremely talented offensive player who at times suffers from a lack of effort on the defensive end. An affable, well spoken kid who will surely be a media darling…hey wait a minute…don’t we know how this story ends? Though I sincerely doubt the Miami Heat will unload half of their roster for Mr. Bynum.

Mitch Kupchak had the best quote from draft night when he told Jim Gray that when given the chance to get a dominant center, you have to take it. Uh excuse me Mitch, sorry to interrupt, but you had that dominant center, then you traded him.

I hear a lot of Laker fans saying they are optimistic about next year and that the team is really only one player away from being a championship contender. And honestly, they’re right, that one player happens to be in Miami.

I’m going to ease up on the Lakers though; they aren’t even the most miss-managed team in the city of Angels. That award goes to the terminally hapless Clippers.

On draft night the Clips showed they still had the ability to baffle grown men, as they selected Yaroslav Korolev a 17-year-old Russian project while more accomplished guys like Danny Granger and Antoine Wright were still available.

Most scouts say that if Korolev pans out, he could be as good as Toni Kukoc. Anybody else not see this as a compliment? Kukoc played with Michael Jordan, a man who made everybody he played with better. I mean without Jordan, Scotty Pippen would be the tallest guy working the counter at Hardee’s, instead he may be a Hall of Famer. So the Clippers drafted a guy who could be the next Kukoc, a guy that Michael Jordan could only turn into a good 6th man. How can I be so sure that Korolev will flop? Because the Clippers front office made the pick. The vaunted Elgin Baylor-Donald Sterling bust-creating tandem has wreaked havoc on the NBA draft for years but now they added another solid decision maker in Mike Dunleavy. I don’t have a problem with Mike Sr., but I know he had to have been involved in the discussion when his son decided to leave school early. Hmm, well son you can come back to Duke and be the odds-on favorite for player of the year and a national championship or you can go pro and risk splitting time with Troy Murphy on the Warriors, I think the choice is pretty clear. Hey how’s that working out for Mike Jr.?

How are the Clippers going to justify this selection to their season ticket holders? I mean Frankie Muniz has to be pissed. It’s Hollywood so I’m thinking they should just make a big trailer. Something like this: “From the front office that brought you Michael Olowokandi, Melvin Ely and Chris Kaman comes the next big thing… maybe… Yaroslav Korolev. Ok, we know you aren’t that thrilled about this but we promise to try really hard to get Ray Allen.”

Oh well, just seems like another ho hum season of Los Angeles basketball…I can’t wait.

Ageless Blunder

By Nick Matkovich

Did someone give Thomas Hearns a lobotomy when I wasn't looking? Something must be wrong because Hearns has decided he wants to return to the boxing ring at the spry age of 46.

Though I'm still a few years away from that age when pills are needed to get things going and slow other things down, I thought 46 was a time when people sat back and enjoyed their life by playing golf or joining a book club. Perhaps picking up a hobby like whittling is something 46 year olds would do. I didn't think a 46 year old enjoys life by being paraded by punches.

I'm really not sure why Hearns has decided to come back. Maybe his Hearns' fondue pot didn't sell as well as the Foreman Grill. Maybe that televangelist was too enticing and Tommy figured why not send some money to improve the minister's bling.

Another possibility is that Hearns wanted to fight on the same card as his son who is fighting in the middleweight bout. Nothing spells family fun like putting up your dukes and then having the chance to ice each other after the bouts. Or perhaps Hearns is just stupid.

I realize that Hearns is retired from boxing, a sport unlike any other. Baseball gives people like Fred Lynn and Jim Rice a chance to be in the public spotlight again by participating in legends games. Basketball allows a puffy Magic Johnson do his best Grimace impression at the NBA All-Star weekend during a shooting contest when he puts on the Laker purple. In boxing, legends matches would amount to the same thing as an actual boxing match. There are no bonus points or taking it easy in boxing, the mission remains the same, beat the living crap out of each other.

But on July 30 Hearns will walk in between the ropes for the first time in five years and I can't come up with a sufficient reason that explains the situation. Competitive fires are a tough thing to douse even if the competition could lead to eating through a straw later in life. Doesn't someone like Muhammad Ali serve as a picture of "this can happen to you" to all other boxers, influencing them to stay retired when they notice their speech beginning to slur?

When July 30 rolls around Hearns' match will bring out a wide range of emotions from people. Some will hope for Hearns to win, others for him to lose while hoping Hearns would avoid all serious injuries. I for one just hope his dentures don't fall out when his manager removes his mouthpiece after the first round.

Iron Mike No More

By Darren Grossman

With his loss to journeyman Kevin McBride last week, it is official: The Mike Tyson era in boxing is over. And it is sad to see him go.

Now, most people don’t like Tyson, some even hate him. However, a true boxing fan loves the excitement, charisma, and element of surprise that Tyson would always bring to the ring.

Tyson was always fun to watch, always exciting. One of the greatest punchers ever, Iron Mike could knock someone down with one good shot, so he was never out of a fight. Even though he may have the IQ of a marble, I was one of those people that loved watching Tyson do what he did best, box, because, with Tyson in the ring, you never knew what was going to happen.

And when he was in his prime, Tyson was great too. Good enough to be the undisputed champion and rattle off win after win until a lucky Buster Douglas punch stopped all that. People seem to forget that Tyson lost the best years of his career to prison when he was convicted of rape, a crime some believe he may not have committed. If you followed the facts of that case, Mike Tyson was convicted because he was Mike Tyson, a violent boxer, and someone viewed as a thug, but that is not really the point of this column, so there is no need to debate that fact.

Before he was convicted, Tyson was a feared fighter, guys like Lennox Lewis, one of the biggest frauds in boxing history, wouldn’t fight him. No one who was a big name heavyweight wanted any part of Iron Mike Tyson.

And now that Tyson is a shell of the fighter he used to be, it is sad to see him go. It is sad that Tyson couldn’t beat the average grandmother anymore in a boxing match. It is sad because without him, the heavyweight division of boxing is so boring, most people would rather watch a soap opera, or Judge Judy or even Dr. Phil. I was rooting for Tyson, hoping he still had it in him because he was the only heavyweight who was worth watching. He was the only active heavyweight fighter, who at one time in his career, was worth paying to see fight In typical Iron Mike fashion, Tyson left boxing in the only way he knew how: surprising fashion. In a fight that all 3 judges had him ahead in, Tyson didn’t answer the bell. He lost one round, and he quit, knowing the tide had turned. How someone with his punching power could just quit on a fight is puzzling, but that’s Tyson for you. The guy always seemed to be missing a couple screws in his head.

Perhaps the main reason it is sad to see Tyson go though is the state that he leaves the heavyweight division in. Most boxing fans will not order a heavyweight bout anymore because they are just boring. In the heavyweight division, there is not one fighter who could have lasted 5 rounds with any of the all-time greats, or with a Mike Tyson in his prime. There’s no Ali, Foreman, or Frasier. There’s not even a Holyfield in his prime.
Instead, there’s a bunch of big, boring fighters who like to hold. Look at John Ruiz, the king of the hold, who has terrible pay per view buy rates due to the fact that he puts people to sleep during his fights with excessive holding. He has lost points in the past for too much holding, and will probably continue to lose them in the future. James Toney looked like he might have had some charisma, then he tests positive for steroids. So the heavyweight division is perhaps the worse it has ever been. And without Iron Mike, there’s no reason anyone should watch a heavyweight fight.

Don’t worry though, the lightweights are great to watch. Jose Luis Castillo and Diego Corrales recent fight was one of the best boxing matches in recent memory, and the rematch will probably be too.

Anyways, in conclusion, I’d like to say a final goodbye to Mike Tyson. Not necessarily the man, but the boxer. Thanks for making the heavyweight division interesting Mike. Thanks for always keeping people on the edges of their seats, because if I have to watch one more John Ruiz fight, I’m going to scream.

Perfection

By Greg Kelminson

The year is 1982. Interest Rates are at 15.75% and the Falklands War is starting to take shape. Most of you probably don’t remember these events, as you were not yet born, but this is also the year that Kenny Rogers is drafted as a 39th round draft pick by the Texas Rangers. It would be seven more years before Kenny Rogers would make the major leagues as a hard throwing lefty out of the Rangers bullpen.

Flash forward to July 28, 1994 and Kenny Rogers is on the verge of a perfect game. His last pitch of the game is a fly ball to left field that Rusty Greer easily handles. Perfection. Kenny Rogers has accomplished a lot of impressive awards during his 23-year tenure in the Majors. He is a two time all-star with a third appearance this year more than likely as he is boasting a 9-3 record with a 2.46 earned run average. He is a three time gold glove winner and has 176 career wins with a 59% win:loss ratio. Wait, there is still a couple more statistics to go: a meltdown in New York, one trade veto, one threat of retirement, a gag order on the media, a smashed cooler resulting in a broken hand, and most recently a spout with local cameramen that sent one of them to the hospital for x rays on his shoulder, wrist, and leg.

Kenny Rogers will not win the good sportsmanship award. He is a short fused and selfish individual. In 2002, the Texas Rangers finished with a 72-90 record, good enough for last in the A.L. West. Kenny Rogers knew the team was headed nowhere, and yet he enforced his no trade clause that would have sent him to the Reds for a couple of prospects. At the time, Kenny Rogers stated he thought it would be better for the Rangers if he stayed. Does not make sense to anyone else? Mr. Rogers, the Rangers were dead last with you on the team and you are only getting older, but you can help the team get to .500 according to you. Unfortunately, things only got worse. Prior to this season, Kenny Rogers, upset with the media for reporting that he would retire if not given at contract extension at the age of 41, imposed a gag order on himself. He would not talk to reporters for the whole year. In the midst of a superb year, selfish Mr. Rogers punches a cooler in disgust and cost the team the ace it desperately needed. On Wednesday Mr. Rogers lost it. He attacked the media both verbally and physically. In case you haven’t seen the video, here is the link: Rogers.

Kenny Rogers may be one of the few pitchers to throw a perfect game, but to use perfect and Kenny Rogers together in any other context would just be a flat out lie. Kenny Rogers may know how to excel at pitching in the majors, but he will never succeed in life with an attitude and viewpoint that he currently possesses.