Our illustrious time in sports

My cynical view...

In light of recent events in professional sports, I wanted to make a few observations on this age in the pros. Over the last 25 years athletics have undergone a series of changes due to a number of things - chemistry, media, money, new workout techniques, a greater awareness of the international market have all contributed a golden age in revenue but in all other respects, what has been created is the asterisk age.

In baseball, the writers and San Francisco Giants fans are anxiously waiting for the biggest fraud since the 1919 White Sox to break one of the games most hallowed records. Sure, the man with a reputation amongst teammates for not even eating in restaurants because he wanted to know what everything was that was going into his body, claimed to not know what he was ingesting - but still admitted to juicing. But the baseball writers expect us to celebrate this feat of aided home runs? The man should be banned from the game.

Basketball for years has faced allegations that its referees control playoff games in order to create the best "ratings" match-ups in order to increase television and advertising revenue. Now it comes out that one of their veteran officials has been implicated in a gambling ring, and may have been involved in fixing games.

That's only part of the problem with basketball which continues to have problems with high-profile players like Ron Artest and Allen Iverson who have had recent run-ins with the law.

Speaking of legal, this might have been the worst off-season in the history of the NFL, and certainly the worst since the 2000 which included Ray Lewis' murder trial and the implication of now convict, then Panthers wide out Rae Carruth in the murder of his pregnant girlfriend. In spite of the fact that the arrest rate for NFL players is lower than that of the general public, the NFL has taken some major hits.

Since New Years alone, three players have died - Denver corner Darrent Williams was shot, Bronco running back Damien Nash's heart gave out on him, and Patriots defensive lineman Marquise Hill drowned - three have been suspended for repeated run-ins with the law - Titan Pacman Jones, Bengal Chris Henry, and former Bear Tank Johnson. Add on top of that two Raiders suspended for violating the steroid policy, three Dolphins with legal run-ins of their own, and the coup-de-gras - Michael Vick's federal indictment on dogfighting charges - the NFL might be weathering more trouble than any of the other leagues this year.

That's the big three. But it doesn't stop there...

Golf, on top of the fact that the golfing press and the men's and women's tours continue to promote a young female golf prodigy who has accomplished exactly jack-squat and appears to be digressing, the sport is now facing steroid allegations.

Bicycling's most prestigious event has been marred in recent years by mass doping allegations and what has appeared to be an almost vindictive, witch-hunt like approach to rooting out the cheaters. In its earnestness to catch those who cheat, the governing body of the cycling federation has made horrible mistakes and mismanaged everything from the handling of the samples, to the announcement of the results - often casting their own findings in doubt.

Hockey has mismanaged a sport that was once one of the "big four" along with basketball, baseball, and football, into something that competes in the television ratings with things like the National Spelling Bee Championship, the Nathan' s Hot Dog Eating Contest, and, on a bad day for the following, golf.

And in a way, the smallest problem in professional sports in America lies with soccer. Ideally a sport in a given country would have a homegrown hero. Soccer has had to resort to importing the biggest name in the world - the British born David Beckham. Not quite the scandal that the other sports seem to face, but still a problem.

That's my rant...I'm sure I could have spent more time and talked about things like the disparity between the small and large market teams in baseball, Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield, the marketing of Kobe Bryant and his illustrious past, any one of a number of other football players, the proliferation of doping issues in track and field, and the decline of tennis in America and god knows what else if I weren't just doing this off the top of my head. But this, I think, is enough to know - We're in no golden age.

The number 95 and other thoughts produced by the two cells that are left...

There are a lot of things that Michael Vick should be worried about in this case -

He should worry about the sheer amount of details in the indictment that include where and when dogs were purchased, the actual amounts bet on fights, locations of the fights, and the fact that there are at least four witnesses for the prosecution listed in the indictment.

He should worry that his cousin who was so ready to take the fall for him a month ago, even going so far as to have a press conference during which he admitted culpability and denied Vick has any knowledge, appears nowhere in the indictment.

He should worry about the timing and the fact that the Federal court in Richmond is known as the fastest in the country at pushing cases through the courtroom.

He should worry about the fact that it's the federal judiciary rather than some local like Mike Nifong who was incompetent or Surry County District Attorney Gerald Poindexter who was dragging his feet on the investigation, and likely to let it drop.

Most of all he should worry about the number 95. That's the percentage of criminal cases in federal court which result in a conviction. There are a number of other people who have a lot more money than Vick who are now behind bars after being dragged into the federal judiciary. Anyone remember Enron and their brain trust?

There are claims of racism already appearing in some quarters, others are alleging that it's because Vick's a celebrity, however, I put it to you, ask the average - and I emphasize AVERAGE - Michael Vick fan from a predominantly black community in Georgia to tell you who Ken Lay was...I give an outside chance at best that the individual will know who that was and that he was nailed by the feds.

Also, if this had been some white guy, Samoan, or even black guy who was a back-up lineman making league minimum with the Falcons, I guarantee he would be cut already. If anything, I would say that Vick's celebrity has thus far protected him as anyone of his previous transgressions - the water bottle, flipping off the fans, smoking the roach on the girlfriend's MySpace page - would have gotten a bottom of the roster player cut.

Baseball writers need to...

Get off the Bud Selig's back about attending Barry Bonds perversion of baseball's biggest record. I am no Bud Selig fan, but this constant whining from the writers - particularly the ones at ESPN - needs to stop.

Selig does not need to be there - get over it.

The vast majority of writers turned as blind an eye to the problem as any of the owners - at whom the writers point their fingers, seldom lumping themselves in as culpable. Now they seem to be beating on Selig as though making him the bad guy in all this gives them a pass on "celebrating the record" as it should be...to paraphrase ESPN's Buster Olney. Olney is among those that think it would be a travesty for Selig to not be there, because it would belittle the breaking of the record.

His argument is that it seems as though Bonds has become the scapegoat for the entire era and that people have forgotten that Bonds was not the only one on the juice, and that's not fair.

Nobody has forgotten that others were juicing - Sammy Sosa, Mark McGuire, and Rafael Palmiero are still talked about regularly. There are still whispers of why Pudge Rodriguez got a lot less pudgy when the testing was instituted and why Roger Clemens, after three years of decline in his 30's, suddenly seemed to be 25 again...after being on a Red Sox team with Jose Canseco

It feels to me like the baseball press is trying to make Selig the bad guy in this just so they can make themselves feel better about covering this travesty. The man has cheated the game and the its fans and the writers will once again be culpable in the sham that will be the home-run record.

I guess there are those that learn history and are doomed to repeat it anyway.

NFL Questions: AFC North

For the last couple of years this division was supposed to be a powerhouse on the verge - the Browns got defensive guru and Bill Belichick disciple Romeo Crennel to run the show and a collection of exciting young players, the Steelers and Ravens were models of consistency, and the Bengals were on the rise. With retirements, age, and other issues that have surfaced, it's now a division with a lot of questions...

Baltimore Ravens - Does Steve McNair have enough in the tank to get this team to the playoffs? Honestly, watching the way McNair ran down at the end of the season, I don't think the question is about Super Bowl chances - I don't think that can even be discussed with this team until they make the post season and McNair shows some life. None of the other questions about this team matter if McNair can't get the job done.

Cincinnati Bengals - There are so many questions here, mostly having to do with suspensions (see Odell Thurman, Chris Henry), but the team proved they could weather those distractions for at least one season, so it stands to reason that they could do it for another (although it could catch up to them). No, the big question here is whether or not they can stop the run.

Like the Indianapolis Colts last year, the Bengals gave up big yardage on the ground. Unlike the Colts, the Bengals couldn't overcome that - nor did they have the player that could come in, when healthy, and stop the run. If they can force teams into shoot-outs and take away the other team's ability to grind out a lead, this could be a big year for them. Otherwise, expect more of the same.

Cleveland Browns - So many questions, but of greatest significance to the Browns - Who's the leader? Charlie Frye, Brady Quinn? Whoever the brain-trust decides is the leader will go a long way to determining whether Romeo Crennel continues as a head coach, or if he returns to a coordinator roll. Either way, Crennel had best hope that the left tackle the team drafted is the dominant left-tackle they're projecting him to be. Otherwise, he better have the resumes ready.

Pittsburgh Steelers - Following their win in one of the worst Super Bowl games ever in regards to the quality of football played, the Steelers picked up where they left off - playing bad football. The first question that pops to mind is whether or not Big Ben can carry the load, but I think the important question is how does a veteran locker room respond when ownership passes on the player's choice for head coach? Steelers players, it was reported, were hoping that one of the incumbent coordinators with whom they were familiar would be offered the job. Instead, it went to Mike Tomlin - a relative youngster in his thirties with a penchant for the 4-3. The Steelers run a 3-4, have for years, and that's the type of personnel that Pittsburgh currently has.

Can they play his brand of football, and, more importantly, are they willing?

Dry rot in Flowery Branch

I touched on this a little bit last night.

Michael Vick has been indicted on Federal charges related to the dogfighting investigation. The charges include conspiracy and transportation across state lines in addition to the dogfighting charges. The conspiracy charge in particular has to be troubling to Vick's lawyers as Vick's defense has been that he was never at the property.

Under the federal conspiracy statute, he doesn't have to be directly involved. As long as he has been facilitating the operation, he's got problems - and it's one of the few charges where proving that link is made considerably easier for the government.

Additionally, this isn't the incompetent Surry County prosecutor they're going against. And the federal prosecutor's office already has close to half a dozen witnesses that put him not just at the fights, but as a major player in the dogfighting underworld.

Some of the reports say that Vick could be in court as early as the middle of November.

Reaction from league offices has been...less than satisfactory given their reactions to other repeat offenders (and make no mistake, someone who is on his girlfriend's myspace page smoking a joint, and later gets in trouble at an airport over a water bottle with a secret compartment before getting indicted by a federal grand jury is a repeat offender). For many, particularly animal rights activists, the wait and see approach being favored by the league at the moment is not going to fly. According to a report this morning by Steve Wyche in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

"We are disappointed that Michael Vick has put himself in a position where
a federal grand jury has returned an indictment against him," NFL spokesman
Brian McCarthy said in a statement. "We will continue to closely monitor
developments in this case, and to cooperate with law enforcement authorities.

"The activities alleged are cruel, degrading and illegal. Michael Vick's guilt has not yet been proven, and we believe that all concerned should allow the legal process to determine the facts. The matter will be reviewed under the League's Personal Conduct Policy."

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has suspended Tennessee Titans cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones for the season for repeated run-ins with the law. Chicago Bears defensive lineman Tank Johnson, who was cut by the team recently, was suspended for eight games, for his legal problems. So was Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry.

Though the strengthening of the player code of conduct was aimed to punish repeat offenders, Goodell could suspend a player on a first offense and has warned Vick as much.

Goodell, who took over as commissioner in 2006, met with Vick in late April, shortly after police raided a property Vick owns in Surry County, Va., and found evidence of dogfighting. At that time, Vick told Goodell that he was not involved in dogfighting. Vick also said as much publicly then, in his only statements on the issue.
If the facts prove that Vick was not honest with Goodell, that could factor into any punishment levied.

Blank also met with Vick in early May and in a "stern" conversation. Blank said the
talk was mostly one-sided but that he would trust and believe in Vick unless proven otherwise.

Part of the new player conduct policy deals with teams facing possible sanctions for not holding players accountable for negative behavior. That facet of the policy could prompt the Falcons to take proactive measures.

If the 27-year old quarterback does get suspended this season, and then convicted of the charges he faces - he could lose up to seven years of his NFL career to the dogfighting, effectively ending his tenure in the NFL. Personally, I believe that if he even had an inkling this was happening on his property (and I honestly believe he more than just had an inkling), Vick needs to be, I'd say thrown to the dogs, but I really don't think I should make a joke about this.

On a related note, what do you think Clinton Portis would say now?

Roger Goodell's gonna need shackles and a cattle prod before this is all over...

A banner day for the NFL -

Pacman Jones is trying to work out with the Titans (I'm sure Bud Adams is thrilled), franchised malcontents Lance Briggs and Asante Samuel failed to agree to contract terms with their respective teams, and now what every blogger has been waiting for - Michael Vick has been indicted on federal charges.

With an indictment now hanging over the head of the "league's most exciting player," Goodell will be forced to act. He cannot stand idly by when one of the league's most over-rated star players faces federal charges when he has handed out a one-year suspension to Jones who has had multiple run-ins with the police, but no convictions...and no federal indictments.

How Goodell handles this will send very clear signals to the press and to the NFL-fandom about who he really is. It's one thing to suspend a cornerback, a number three receiver, and a defensive tackle. It's another thing altogether to nail one of the league poster-boys to the proverbial wall.

Of course, in light of Vick's last year, Goodell might very well be happy to serve notice that being a poster boy is not...shall we say, a right for the highly talented. This might become the single most interesting decision to come out of league offices during the Comish's brief tenure.

Thanks Don Pardo, now tell us what he won....

Asante Samuel - a chance to put his lack of money where his mouth is. Yesterday was Samuel's final chance to come to a long-term deal with the Patriots. Failure to do so means that Samuel and the Patriots cannot come to a long-term deal until after the 2007 season.

The sticking point - Samuel wanted Nate Clements San Fran money through the first three years of the deal. The Patriots offered, based on the contracts of Dre Bly and Nathan Vasher, fair market value for a corner of Samuel's career numbers.

To put it in a nutshell - Samuel wanted the Patriots to do something idiotic, the Patriots said no.

Now we get to see if Samuel will really hold out and lose a fair chunk of $7.79 million, or if he will make the business savvy decision and get his butt into camp and play out the season (keeping in mind that last year has been the only year that Samuel remained healthy through a full season - likely another of the Patriots' sticking points).

Kason Gabbard - Three wins in three decisions and five starts (four in place of the injured Curt Schilling) and a chance for a longer look from the big league club for the Red Sox rookie. Gabbard is currently 3-0 with a 3.38 ERA and averaging just under six innings per start. Opponents are batting an anemic .206 against him right now.

The man whose seat Gabbard is keeping warm - 4.20 ERA and batters are hitting at a .288 clip through 15 starts.

Baltimore/Washington Eagles - Higher expectations. Winners of Division II at the Nationals in Las Vegas last year, the Australian football club has started off 3-0 with two wins against the North Carolina Tigers and the Boston Demons, both Division I teams last year. The hot start has seen the Eagles rising in the polls to number five.

With a match looming at the end of August, when the team comes off its summer break, against Eastern powerhouse and the third ranked New York Magpies, the Eagles have their work cut out for them.

L.A. Galaxy - A lingering ankle injury. Giving the term "Bend it like Beckham" a different meaning, the British soccer star's injured ankle is likely to delay the premier of the $250 million man. Not exactly the auspicious start that American soccer fans had hoped for.

Instant karma's gonna get you...

The city that booed Santa Claus finally set the record they were destined to set.

Six times since 1920, the Philadelphia Phillies have had a winning percentage below .300 in a season. Of the 23 teams in the history of Major League Baseball with a winning percentage below .300 - Philadelphia has hosted nine of them (Athletics - 1915 - 43 wins, 1916 - 36, 1919 - 36, and the Phillies - 1928 - 43, 1938 - 45, 1939 - 45, 1941 - 43, 1942 - 42, 1945 - 46). Even accounting for a .300 season, the fightin' Phils had seasons like 1961 in which they won only 47 and 1972 when pitcher Steve Carlton had 27 of the team's 59 wins.

For all of Chicago's baseball woes, not a single Cubs team appears on the list, and the only Cleveland team to make the list is the 1899 Cleveland Spiders. As a matter of fact, no team other than the Phillies makes the list more than three times, and no other city more than four.

Sure, the team has won pennants, but last night the Phillies set the record they were destined to set this season. The Philadelphia Phillies are officially the first professional sports franchise to 10,000 losses. Truly a testament to the hard-ball futility of the City of Brotherly Love throughout the years.

On the bright side, Philadelphia is currently sporting a winning record at 46-45, albeit just barely, and are only five games behind the East-leading Mets.

As a Red Sox fan whose parents are originally from Philadelphia, I was always able to look back on some of the Phillies history in order to get some perspective on my beloved Sawx.

Right now, I think 10,000 says it all.

Back off, man

According to a report that hit the Boston papers this weekend, sources close to Asante Samuel say the corner-back is unlikely to go through with his threat to sit out the season.

I think this is called, in the parlance, "blinking first."

According to this source, it has "occurred" to Samuel, that he would be better able to showcase his abilities over the course of a full season...and would be more likely to avoid a catastrophic injury by being in "game shape." This reasoning all seems quite familiar to me.

Of course, this also means that, with this source close to him going public, his source has destroyed any of what little negotiating leverage Samuel may have had with a hold-out - which I still think was none at all.

Hubris and David McDade -

Anyone who reads my blog knows I have been posting here about the travesty that is the Genarlow Wilson case in Georgia - the then 17-year old convicted of child-molestation and serving ten-years for receiving a blow-job, freely given, from a then 15-year old at a party. Recently an appeals judge ruled that the punishment didn't fit the...crime, for lack of a better word (and I refuse to call our society setting an arbitrary age at which a person can legally consent to sex a crime).

The judge, in essence, changed the ruling to a misdemeanor and granted Wilson time served. For more details, see my other posts on Wilson - there are several.

Douglas County District Attorney David McDade, the DA who originally prosecuted Wilson, has appealed the ruling. Until the appeal is hear and ruled upon, Wilson will continue to languish in jail.

McDade is making no friends with Georgia law-makers according to a recent article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. His philosophy seems to be all or nothing, and that the law should have no gray area. It might just be me - but it strikes me that that philosophy is about to bite him on the ass based on the following passages from the AJC:

Douglas County District Attorney David McDade violated federal law when he distributed a videotape from a rape and child molestation case to legislators and journalists, the U.S. Attorney in Atlanta said Wednesday.

U.S. Attorney David Nahmias said in a statement that federal law prohibits the distribution of the Genarlow Wilson videotape because it depicts minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. He warned that people who had received it would be in violation of federal child pornography laws

Federal law prohibits the distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography in most circumstances, Nahmias said...

McDade told the Associated Press that he was required to release the tape under the state's Open Records Act because it was introduced as evidence at the trial.

Nahmias, though, said federal law trumps any contrary requirement of the open records law.

Nahmias said that his office issued the statement to end further distribution of the videotape and advised those who possessed it to destroy or return it. His office, under federal policy, would neither confirm nor deny whether it was investigating the distribution.

State Sen. Emanuel Jones (D-Decatur) has called for an investigation to determine whether McDade violated federal law in distributing the videotape in response to requests under the open records law.

On Tuesday, Jones characterized the videotape as child pornography and called it "an absolute, utter disgrace" that a videotape of the raunchy party in a Douglasville hotel room that led to the conviction of Wilson on aggravated child molestation charges has been given to reporters and legislators.

Now, it might just be me, but - if you're a lawyer, isn't it just common sense that you wouldn't be able to distribute any sort of visual recording of teenagers having sex? No matter what the public access laws are? I mean, even I knew this dude was in trouble when I heard that the tape had been distributed based on public requests. Also, does it sound like the legislator wants to put the screws to McDade, the way McDade has been to Wilson? This isn't just an investigation. He's calling for the DA to be investigated for distribution of child pornography.

As the DA has supplied tapes to news outlets outside of Georgia, we're talking federal investigation and a sentence of at least 21 months, possibly longer, from the federal statutes that I have found. Once again, maybe it's me, but it seems to me that the legislator, in his own subtle way, is telling McDade to back-off.

Who gives a rats a...

They were a Hollywood couple living it up in Europe - the pop-star and the most famous athlete in his sport. A movie was named for him and she had been in a movie. Yesterday they arrived in America...Los Angeles to be specific, so that David Beckham could once again be the best player in his league...of course, playing in professional soccer in America is a few steps down from playing for REAL Madrid.

For the last couple of weeks, media outlets have been promoting the Beckhams like they're the second coming of the Beatles in the United States - at least one headline I saw invoked the term "British Invasion."

NBC is even airing...if it hasn't already aired, a reality show following Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham through the move to the "Colonies."

And the real question is...who cares?

The L.A. Galaxy are paying Beckham A-Rod type money - a $250 million contract - in the hopes of bringing more fans to a sport with marginal popularity in the United States (sorry Dave), but is king around the world. This smacks of the Yankees.

Beckham is, at best a re-tread. In January of this year, ESPN reported, "Beckham turned down a two-year contract extension from Spanish team Real Madrid, where his fading skills left him on the bench."

During an eight season run, largely as a regular starter with Manchester United, Beckham scored 61 goals - an average of 7.63 per season. In two seasons in Madrid he scored a total of seven, more than half a goal less than his annual average.

Maybe playing against the inferior talent in the United States he will experience a career renaissance. But once again, who cares?

The move smacks of desperation. It was tried once before and with Pele, a player that was much more marketable to the American people. Let's face it - yes, we are part of a culture that is fascinated with our celebrities, and with our celebrity athletes. But we like our athletes to be humble, to come from humble beginnings, to remain humble. Seldom do we like the "Rock Star" athletes.

Look at Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds - they polarize the public and part of the knock on them is the perception that they set themselves apart from their teams, that they are spoiled. Sure, we'll deal with the larger-than-life personas of the Deion Sanders of the world...they have a certain kitsch value. Beckham? With $250 million is just going to come off as a re-tread star who took advantage of an idiot American who was bidding against only himself for the services of a washed up once-great.

But then again...who cares?

In honor of Friday the 13th - 13 Thoughts...

1. Halfway house - The Yankees won last night to get to .500 with a 43-43 record. Right now, at ten games behind the Red Sox, they are halfway between first place and last. The Devil Rays are 20 games back.

With 76 games left the Yankees would have to go 47-29 just to get to 90 wins and 52-24 to get to the commonly acknowledged number of 95 for a legit shot at the post-season. That's a .618 winning percentage from now until the end of the season.

To put it a different way - on a team where the starting pitching has accounted for 30 of the team's 43 wins and 30 of the team's losses, the Yankees need their starting pitching to come up with quality starts in three out of every five starts, bare minimum, and enough offense to win those starts. Is there anyone who doesn't have pinstripes seared into their minds that believes the Yankees can do this?

2. Smells like...desperation - The Yankees gave Alex Rodriguez an ultimatum...promise not to opt out of your contract and we'll work out an extension with you. If you don't, we won't be part of the off-season A-Rod sweepstakes. Yeah, I wouldn't have accepted that either.

In essence, the Yankees have told one of the few bright spots in their otherwise moribund season to give up all negotiating leverage. The bottom line is that the Yankees were willing to pay more while Texas was picking up part of the tab and they're not so sure they want to spend gobs o cash on their third baseman.

Unfortunately, they're over a barrel. They have no one in the minors, and right now their other option would be to overpay for Mike Lowell if the Sox don't extend him. Who else will be on the market this winter that the Yanks would be interested in?

3. Fed up - I have been cycling since I was in high school. When I say cycling, I'm talking water bottles, Trek, Cannondale, Biancchi, spandex, and the Tour De France.

I have even followed le Tour with more than a passing interest in a number of years, but this year there's a bad taste in my mouth. That bad taste has to do with the Tour, and the last three American winners which make up, in toto, half the winners of the last 20 Tours - Greg LeMond (2 X's, three if you go back 21 years), Lance Armstrong (7 X's), Floyd Landis (once).

LeMond, who to this day, had one of the greatest single days in the history of sports when he came from almost two minutes down in the final time-trial in 1986 to beat Laurent Fignon of France seems to have his own agenda. Armstrong and Landis have both faced doping allegations - Armstrong from teammates that had nothing to gain by outing him, and Landis with a failed test during last year's Tour.

All might be guilty of something, and it's possible that none are guilty of anything. Let's face it, if the Tour really wanted to clean up the sport, they wouldn't rely on an incompetent lab, and they certainly wouldn't let the rag of a newspaper, L'Equipe, have access to "anonymous" test samples in order to discredit riders. And all this is just a tip of the disorganized iceberg that is the mess the Tour has going, and it makes it hard to take anything that the Tour officials claim as being the truth since the newspaper appears to have an agenda - and treating the riders fairly does not seem to be part of that agenda.

4. Depth Charges - Listening to ESPN Radio's Sports Bash on the way home yesterday, the host made an interesting...and accurate point about the Red Sox this year. Last year the team had a better record and the team had "better balance."

It's hard to argue that the line-up was better last year - Nixon was better last year than Drew has been this year, shortstop has been a down-grade, and both Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz have been scuffling at the plate. However, Varitek is having a better season, as is Youkilis, Mike Lowell, and even Coco Crisp, not to mention Pedroia has been an upgrade at second.

The real key, however, has been that last season the team didn't weather injuries to the pitching particularly well, and other than Jonathan Papelbon, had a pretty mediocre bullpen. This season Okajima and DelCarmen have been spectacular on a Papelbon-like level, and others like Kyle Snyder and Brendan Donnelly have been solid. To top it off, the Sox have starters ready for the Pawtucket to Boston express a-la Kasson Gabbard for whenever the Curt Schillings of the world are done.

It's unlikely that the Sox will experience a late-season skid like last year when inning-eater Tim Wakefield went down with a rib injury.

5. The Boomer and Moss- David Wells recent suspension getting him in the news reminded me of what I thought when the Sox signed him. I realized that when I heard the Patriots had traded for Moss, that I emotionally had the same reaction...I really hate this guy, did my team really need him that badly?

6. Just a couple of weeks - While I am a Red Sox lifer, I have to admit, I am first and foremost a football fan. I was that guy watching NFL Europa. I am happy to remind everyone - pads get strapped on for two-a-days in just about two weeks.

7. Predictions - I don't generally like to do preseason predictions, except for in the NFL. However, I did some for bitterfans.com and predicted that the Brewers would finish in first in the NL Central. While they have struggled of late, the team still holds a 4.5 game lead in the division after the All-Star break, and has a legitimate shot of winning what's a fairly weak division.

In all honesty, the Brew-crew was my dark-horse pick. I'm just as surprised as anybody else.

8. Of human Bond-age - Will some pitcher just bean this man already? Nobody outside of San Francisco or ESPN's Connecticut campus wants to see the non-stop Bonds coverage by ESPN.

And on that note, ESPN and their on-air personalities should be ashamed for taking Hank Aaron to task over his choice to not attend the grotesque charade that is Bonds' pursuit of Aaron's record. If anyone has earned the right to do something for his own reasons, it's Aaron, and who the Hell are we to question him? For that matter - why should Bud Selig be present? If the man thinks Bonds cheated, isn't that then just sending the message that he continues to condone the cheating in the sport.

Maybe it is a little disingenuous of him to turn his back on Bonds after years of turning a blind eye to the problem, but wouldn't it be worse if after committing to cleaning up the game he did something that could be construed as condoning one of the league's biggest cheaters?

9. Meet me in St. Louis - I've seen championship teams take a dive following their championship season, and heard all the questions that accompanied the fall, but this one is amusing to me. People are talking like St. Louis has had the precipitous fall from last year, but this team went 83-78 - the third worst record in the history of the sport for a play-off team.

What we had was a team that got hot for the post-season. Think long and hard about the fact that they got quality starts out of Jeff "Let's Throw Some Batting Practice Every Fifth Day" Weaver in the post-season, and then tell me whether or not they were the best team, or just the best at the right time.

This right now is no surprise to me.

10. Hey baby, what's your sign - Can anyone out there tell me what's going on with ESPN and the sexual harassment suits? Anyone?

Who wants to place bets on how long it will be before Isaiah Thomas works there?

11. 20,000 Leagues under the Seahawks - Anyone out there know what the over-under is that Vegas is putting on the two new professional football leagues that are supposed to start up over the next couple of years? With the United Football League already attracting investors such as Mark Cuban, and the fact that they are looking to play ball in the Fall, my money is on the UFL to be the one to show any sort of longevity.

You know...get into the second half.

12. Tennis anyone - Wimbledon has come and gone and the most I saw were some highlights of matches featuring the Williams sisters, Maria Sharapova, and Daniella Hantuchova. All told, I watched less than ten minutes of tennis.

Growing up I used to watch Wimbledon and Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Chris Everett and Martina Navratilova. I even watched when it was Michael Chang, Ivan Lendl, and Boris Becker.

It occurred to me that I couldn't name a single men's player on the current tour without some sort of hint. Yup, I'm one of pro tennis' lost viewers. Oh well.

13. Better for some sports - Throughout the years, Hollywood has often looked to sports to provide storylines. There have been so many sports movies that they are sometimes considered their own genre. I have addressed the movies before, but what I have never asked here is why some sports seem to generate better movies than others?

For example, cycling has produced the classic Breaking Away and the well received Flying Scotsman, but it has also given us American Flyers and little else. Football has given us Remember the Titans, North Dallas 40, and the original Longest Yard but it has also given us Necessary Roughness and Little Giants.

I put it to you, my readers - other than baseball (Field of Dreams, The Natural, The Bad News Bears, Bull Durham, A Soldier's Story, Bang the Drum Slowly, Major League, Eight Men Out, Fear Strikes Out, and Cobb off the top of my head), can anyone come up with a top ten of movies for any given sport? Football? Basketball? Hockey?

Or at least explain to me why sports like basketball end up with more films like Juwanna Mann and Air Bud, than like Hoosiers?

Vick apologists go home and other QB issues

Andrew Perloff over at Sports Illustrated made a bold prediction about the Falcons this year. Less a prediction, really, than a statement that the Falcons "could go," 3-13 this season. This of course brought all the Vick apologists out of the wood work like little termites.

Vick's woes are everybody's fault but his own, including the fact that he has shown no progress in his development as a pro. One of my favorite statements on the forum responses to Perloff's blog regarding Vick was from some Falcons fan who claimed to have played QB in the CFL and AFL and stated that Vick only put the ball up 15-20 times per game.

Never mind the fact that his average attempts per game for his career is 23.4, and for the last two seasons around 25, according to this Falcons fan, Vick's completions per game, based on his completion percentage, would be between 8.07 and 10.76. Yeah, that's the guy I want under center. I'm not even going to get into his yardage numbers.

Hell, even at 23.4 per game, his completions still end up at a brutally low 12.6 per game.

On most teams that doesn't just get you benched. It gets you cut.

To put it in perspective - Tom Brady? 31.92 attempts per game and 61.9 percent completions, or 19.75 completions per game.

Ben Roethlisberger who is kept to a lower number of attempts, more comparable to Vick, because of the reliance on Pittsburgh's potent running attack? 25 AGP, 62.4 % completions, and 15.6 CPG.

How about Kurt Warner who was benched last season in spite of a completion percentage over 64? Who is in the twilight of his career in spite of two seasons where he averaged between 64.4 and 64.5 percent completions? Warner through his career has 31.75 APG, with a 65.6 % completions, with 20.8 CPG. And the prevailing belief is that he can't start in this league anymore.

So, I say it once again, until Vick shows me something...consistently, then just go home and be quiet, because Vick is the anti-A-Rod - a supremely talented athlete that puts up mediocre to poor numbers.

And before any of you use the argument about his rushing statistics last year, let me pose the question - just what did that 1000 yards Vick got on the ground get you? A playoff berth or a losing season?

Making a mountain out of a mole hill

Originally entitled by the NY Daily news, Manning Lobs Barb at Barber, the following was reported on SI.com under a slightly different title alluding to essentially the same idea...

Manning takes shot at Tiki
Posted: Thursday July 12, 2007 07:50AM ET
Eli Manning didn't hold back when asked about what he thought life would be like without newly retired running back Tiki Barber. "I don't think we're concerned," Manning said. "We're excited by the players that we have who wanted to return for this season, and who wanted to be a part of the Giants and play." When word of Barber's retirement leaked out during last season, many in the media questioned Barber's dedication to the team. Manning's parting shot, however, is the first time a teammate has openly criticized the Giants' all-time leading rusher.

Sure, this statement could be looked at a back-handed slap at the former Giants running-back, but it really looks to me like the press trying to create controversy where there isn't any. I'm not an Eli fan, but I really do feel this is reaching.

This strikes me as something along the lines of the following -
Spring 2006
Member of the press - "Hey David, what do you think the Sox chances are without Johnny Damon?"
Big Papi - "I don't think we're concerned. We're excited by the players that we have who wanted to return for this season, and who wanted to be a part of the Red Sox."

Is there anyone out there that would take that as a shot at Damon, or Ortiz just trying to build his new team-mates up? Anyone?

Rumor mills and reactions

With the source credited as the New York Daily News, Yahoo reported the following rumor -

the Los Angeles Dogers, Los Angeles Angels and Boston Red Sox have the best chances of landing Alex Rodriguez in 2008. The cost? How about as much as $30 million per season?
Longer shots to sign A-Rod – this is all assuming he opts out of his contract after this season – are the Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets and San Francisco Giants.

The reactions to this have been fascinating, ranging from the simple, "we'll take him," or, "we don't want him," to the reasonably well thought out post of this person -

Quit B.S.ing all you who said "Hope he doesn't come here" He's the best player
of this generation and when he's done he'll be the best ever. No true fan
wouldn't want that added to their hometown team. Don't think I say this as an
A-Rod fan, I'm a Mariners fan and have more reason to hate him than any of you
but get serious. No one can stand him here but if he were re-signed he'd get a
standing ovation for everything he did. He's that good. Like him or hate him but
don't deny he's the best and any GM who had the chance would be an idiot to pass
on him. Sure, he's had a rough time in the playoffs for the Yankees but if he
isn't on that club they don't even make the playoffs a few of those years. He's
not the problem, the pitching staff having one starter younger than Yoda is the
problem..... GO MARINERS!!!!
Posted by ateabug1 on Tuesday, Jul 10, 2007
5:21 pm EDT

It's well though out, but it's not right.

A lot is made about him being the highest paid player in the game. If he can get that sort of contract, more power to him. But he needs to go into it with the understanding that when he doesn't produce as the highest paid player in the game, the fans will come at him hard like they have done in New York. If your team is giving you the highest paid player in the game, then that player damn well better produce as the best player in the game. A-Rod hasn't.

Statistically, A-Rod is a freak. If looked at based solely on his regular season numbers, not broken down by month, or what inning he's batting in, Rodriguez looks like the best player in the game. He might end up the all-time home-run leader, and he is likely to finish his career with numbers that will get him into the Hall-of-Fame on a near unanimous first ballot.

Hell, he's the best bat the Yankees have had this season.

Despite the numbers, as a Red Sox fan, the closest I want this man to my team is on the Yankees - particularly if he opts out of his current contract in the hopes of getting a bigger contract. Why?

He's about as good under pressure as a soft-boiled egg.

When it began unravelling for the Yankees in the 2004 post-season, A-Rod slapped at Bronson Arroyo's glove as the pitcher ran to cover first in a blatant display of interference and unsportsman-like conduct. This year he yelled as he ran from second to third, interfering with the shortstop's ability to field a ball in Toronto during a game the Yankees were winning. He has been dubbed by the New York media as Mr. April - not just a shot at his post-season woes, but a knock that is meant to evoke former Yankee Dave Winfield who was dubbed Mr. May by George Steinbrenner back in 1982. At least Winfield made it to May.

These are just the tidbits that pop to mind, never mind the rumblings that he sets himself apart from his team-mates, or that a $30 million annual salary, even for the Red Sox, would make it prohibitive to go out and sign other people who might help the team.

The Angels? Historically they haven't spent anywhere near that to sign free-agents. Dodgers? I would be surprised.

The Cubs, given their recent spending, might make a run, but realistically, I think the Yankees will pony up with the biggest offer, although I could see the Mets making a serious run.

I'd rather see the Sox go out and sign or trade for someone like Mark Teixeira and move Kevin Youkilis to third if they're not going to resign Mike Lowell. As for moving him back to short? I'm not interested enough in him to even consider the possibility, which is saying a lot considering the lack of production the Sox have from Julio Lugo.

Asante and Strategy

Dave, the author of The Coffin Corner, and subject of a mild bit of jealous on my part for living on the edge of one of my favorite cities, recently made some great observations about the Asante Samuel situation in the Razor. As usual, Dave has taken his position on Samuel's contract demands and backed them up with solid arguments.

In the second to last paragraph he wrote on the subject, something he put on his blog caught my eye and made me think. Dave observed:

The deadline for a multi-year extension is next Monday at 4 pm. After that, Samuel can only play for the one-year deal and we'll likely see the same thing happen next year. My guess is that the Bly and Vasher contracts will give the Pats a clear example to present to Samuel's reps and that a deal will get done. It really doesn't benefit Samuel to do it any other way. If he holds out until week 10 he'll only make a little over one million this year. And if he shows up to camp to play out the one-year franchise tender, then why did he hold out?

This paragraph got me thinking about the hold-out as a negotiating tool, and I realized that it is only a truly effective ploy if the player is someone that a team can not do without...say, Peyton Manning for the Colts. Not Asante Samuel.

Last year Deion Branch was on the verge of a regular season hold-out with the Patriots when he was traded to Seattle. As much as the local and national sports media blasted the Patriots brain-trust for that move, in the end, it really didn't hurt them. They can say what they like about Reche Caldwell, but statistically, he adequately replaced Branch's numbers - which were never reflective of the money he was demanding. That Seattle gave that money to him is a whole separate issue.

But let's attack the hold-out strategy for Samuel.

1. Samuel replaced an aging Ty Law who was set free due to a high cap-number. The team was blasted by the press for letting Law go while not having a replacement ready. The replacement turned out to be Samuel himself. Armed with this little nugget, and the knowledge that Ellis Hobbs is probably in a comparable place in his development after a similar amount of time in the pros, Samuel's camp should know that it's unlikely that the Patriots are going to blink in this little game of chicken.
2. The common argument, used by Samuel himself, is, "I could go out there and hurt myself on the first play" of the season, and never see the [guaranteed bonus] money from a new contract. When analyzed, this argument is one of the most boneheaded you can come across. To wit - as the franchise designee, the so designated player will receive a one year salary equal to the average of the top five players at his position. In Samuel's case, this comes to somewhere in the neighborhood of $7.3 million. That is guaranteed. If Samuel sits out until the tenth game, he will receive only a prorated amount of that. After the fines he incurs, it's likely to be less than $1.5 million. So he sits out in order to make maybe 25 percent of what he could make, and takes that exact same risk in week ten he whined about having to take in week one - never mind the fact that no franchised player has ever suffered the career ending injury they all cite as why they don't want to sign that tender.
   
3. The strategy backs the player into a corner they can't get out of. If Samuel shows up, even at the beginning of the regular season in order to get the whole check, then he loses face. If he doesn't show up until week 10, who really thinks that he will see time as anything other than a nickel corner during those last four weeks - and I say four, because who really believes that he will get any playing time while he gets into, as Bill Belichick would put it, "game shape." He doesn't show up until week 10 and he might as well have lost a whole season in his prime.

The bottom line is that holding out is not just a desperate move, but a stupid move.

The only way it could possibly work for Samuel is if something went horribly wrong in the secondary - so much so that the Patriots would need to start Troy Brown at corner. Otherwise someone in his camp needs to tell him that he is nowhere near a position of power in his bargaining.

Things I would like to see...

I would like to see more headlines about professional athletes doing the right thing rather than the ongoing sagas of the Michael Vicks and Pacman Joneses of the world.

I would like people to stop taking the fall for the Vicks, and for the other fans to get their heads out of their asses and stop making excuses for him and for Barry Bonds. Yes, we are in America where in a court of law, the concept is innocent before proven guilty.

However, just because he hasn't been convicted, doesn't mean that Bonds is innocent. Hell, he admitted before a grand jury that he did cheat the game. That's a fact.

Stop apologizing for him - we also live in a country where ignorance is not considered a legitimate defense in a court of law. He's a cheater and deserves no better than Pete Rose, and for my money, a lot worse.

I would like to see Drew Bledsoe make the Hall of Fame, but more, I would like to see what he would be like as a quarterbacks coach for some team in the NFL. After watching sideline film of that last season in New England, I am convinced that Tom Brady does not develop at the rate he did that year without Bledsoe's feedback.

I would like to know what, exactly, is keeping Jim Rice out of the Hall of Fame. Outside of Reggie Jackson, there was no slugger from 1975-1986 who was more dominant, and his numbers are comparable to quite players that are already enshrined.

I would love to be a fly on the wall in George Steinbrenner's war-room this year. Considering the sudden questions about the future ownership of the Yankees, it seems that the dysfunction started at the top and has worked its way down. I would love to hear the conversations as they approach the trade deadline.

I would like to see players shut the hell up and play when franchised, particularly since the major whine is, "I could go out there and get hurt on the first play of the season," and in the history of the tag, no player has lost a season while playing under the franchise tender. You're getting paid the average salary of the top five players at your position - get into camp and get on the field.

I would now like to see the Yankees go 86 years between championships. When you look at the way the Red Sox played in the 1920's after getting rid of Ruth, it certainly looks like the Yankees are heading in that sort of direction. They've slashed and burned their farm-system, and have effectively ended up with a lot of fat contracts on the old and injured. Even with their deep pockets, that has the potential to take a long time from which to recover.

Finally, I would like to see the Pats get two more rings this decade. It would be one helluva an accomplishment in this day of the salary cap.

Being Curt and other observations

The writing is on the wall.

Curt Schilling went on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder tendinitis after an MRI showed nothing. The move was made retroactive to June 19. That means Schill was elligible to come off the DL yesterday.

Yesterday the team announced the rotation through July 16. Schill is not part of it.

When the team comes back from the All-Star break, the rotation is likely to be Wakefield, Tavarez, Matsuzaka, Beckett, and Gabbard. While the Sox might expect Schilling back sometime in July, it looks to me like the Red Sox are trying to prepare for life without the hero of the 2004 World Series.

What this is saying to me is that the Red Sox are trying to look at the future now. With a ten game lead they have the option of taking a longer look at Kason Gabbard and Jacoby Ellsbury. They might be looking at either as trade bait, or to see if either merits consideration for tomorrow's team and whether or not they can help down the stretch.

One thing it definitively says to me is that Schilling and the Sox part ways at the end of this season.

Resurrection
I have been following whispers about the Women's United Soccer Association coming back under a different name. As a former beat writer covering the Philadelphia Charge back in 2001 and as the father of a five year-old girl, personally, I think this is pretty cool.

According to the Boston Herald, the Boston Breakers are soon to have try-outs for the new league sponsored by the Women's Soccer Initiative, Inc. The WSI has announced that the reincarnation of the WUSA will have eight teams which includes Washington (playing right down the street from me in Germantown, MD), New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, St. Louis, and according to some rumors, Philadelphia.

While I covered the league, I had the chance to talk to a number of the World Cup players like Kristine Lilly, Katie Sobrero, Lorrie Fair, and Heather Mitts. These women were superb athletes, I'm glad they and those who have followed in their cleat-steps will once again have an opportunity to make a living doing what they love.

Congrats
Hideki Okajima has made the All-Star game, joining team-mates Mike Lowell, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Josh Beckett, and Jonathan Papelbon. While I wouldn't have complained about most of the other candidates making it onto the roster, Okajima has been deserving of the honor.

The man has been virtually unhittable since coming across the Pacific as an afterthought in all the Matsuzaka hype.

With the limited space, it's a shame that Matsuzaka couldn't have made it as well as Kevin Youkilis who has been having a better year than Ortiz.

Halfway to the post-season

After 82 games the Boston Red Sox are 51-31 and on a pace for 102 wins this season. At the writing of this, the Angels (51-31) were losing to Texas and the Indians (50-32) were locked in a tie with Detroit. If the score remains the same in the Angels game and no matter the result of the Indians, then the Sox retake the mantle of having the best record in baseball.

The Sox owe this to two things, being in the top six in hitting in spite of carrying the light hitting Julio Lugo (.191), and players like JD Drew, Manny Ramirez, and David Ortiz hitting below their career averages. The other - their pitching. Currently they're tied for fourth in team ERA at a 3.71 (not including tonight's game). After tonight's win, Daisuke Matsuzaka is the team's second ten game winner, joining Josh Beckett (11-2), and the team has three pitchers with at least eight wins (Tim Wakefield at 8-8).

With their ten game cushion, and an injury to the recently surging Coco Crisp, the Sox have been able to audition prospect Jacoby Ellsbury at the major league level. With David Murphy available at Pawtucket, one has to question why Ellsbury was promoted.

Was it with the idea to increase his trade value in order to make a big splash before the trade deadline?

Was it to audition him for the majors in order to see how expendable Crisp is?

If it's the former, then the Sox can expect flak for that trade given the play he made on the passed ball against Texas. If it's the latter, then the Sox are acknowledging that the future is now in their quest for a second World Series title this decade.

Considering the way the offense has sputtered lately, the latter might not be a bad thing. Ellsbury may very well provide the Sox the spark they have been needing as well as the true lead-off hitter they have been missing. He may even succeed in taking the pressure on Lugo, which in turn might allow Lugo to get back on track.

NFL Questions: NFC East

Like I did with the AFC East, here I am taking a look at what is the major question facing each team in the NFC East. There are so many issues facing each of these teams, it was difficult to choose just one.

Dallas Cowboys - Oh, so many to choose here, and so many obvious ones...Tony Romo's development? T.O., AKA The Mouth That Roared? The Dallas O-line? New coaching staff? Ultimately, I think it all comes back to the offensive line. Can they do better than they did last year? If they can, they have a shot. If they can, then Romo has a chance to develop, Romo has a chance to get the ball to Terrell Owens and keep him happy, and Wade Phillips has a chance to see if his offense really works. Considering that the Cowboys' big off-season offensive acquisition was a left tackle that couldn't cut it on the offensive powerhouse that is the Arizona Cardinals, this might be a tall order.

New York Giants - Can Eli Manning become the player that the Giants need him to be? We could ask if Jeremy Shockey could ever become the player the Giants need him to be, but we already know he's not dedicated to the improvement of the team. But can Manning become consistent, can Manning become a leader, can Manning smack down the idiots when they open their mouths? It's unlikely that the Giants will see any improvement on last year if Manning can't be the guy that the players rally around. And if it's more of the same, expect Coach Coughlin to b e looking for a job come January.

Philadelphia Eagles - Can Donovan McNabb stay healthy for sixteen games? The only way that this happens is if Andy Reid learned his lesson last year when he called just about as many running plays as he did passing. In each of McNabb's injury plagued seasons, passing plays made up close to 70 percent of the calls for the Eagles offense. If Reid stays with what I call the McNabb ratio (70-30), Kevin Kolb needs to be ready for extended action. If Kolb is starting for the Eagles, they will struggle.

Washington Redskins - Did Dan Snyder finally get out of his own way? Lord only knows if that will even help. For the first time during his tenure as owner, Snyder has reigned in the need to win the Super Bowl during the off-season and avoided making the big splash. Last year he went out and signed Adam Archuletta, a hard hitting safety with mediocre cover skills, to play opposite of Sean Taylor...a hard hitting safety with mediocre coverage skills. Instead of complimentary pieces, the Redskins were concerned with getting the players with the biggest reputations that were available. Last season that resulted in a gaping hole in pass coverage in the middle of the field. Maybe, for the first time since Snyder took over, the team will show some growth due to the lower key effort.

NY Nuggets

In a season during which things seem to fall apart for the Yankees just when they seem like they might turn the corner, or at least get some sort of season highlight, it has happened again. On the night that Clemens gets his 350th career win, the Bombers' best offensive player injures himself and is likely headed to the disabled list.

For those out there that don't think Alex Rodriguez has been the best player at the plate for the Yanks this year, you're either blind or stupid. For the next two weeks, the Yankees are likely to be without the guy who has produced 80 of the team's 315 RBI's from the (current regular) starting nine. That's 25.4 percent of the team's RBI's. They lose the guy who hit 28 home runs of the starting nine's 68 homers, 41.18 percent. He has hit more than three times the number of home runs than the next most on the team (Posada, 9), and of the current line-up, to even come close to matching his home run production, it would take Posada, Matsui (8), Jeter (5), and Abreu (5) - in essence, half the line-up.

Call it a hunch, but this is going to be a long two weeks for the Yanks if A-Rod's hamstring is bad enough to be put on the DL. Add that to the fact that a hamstring injury makes A-Rod a less tradeable commodity if the Yanks wanted to try to replenish the farm system. Hamstrings are notoriously tricky and can have an adverse affect on a player's power numbers.

Yankees fans take note...
Yankees ownership feels that you are less important than the players. At least that is what the message seems to be when they allow Cynthia Rodriguez, A-Rod's wife, to wear a shirt that tells the fan base what it can do with itself.

Any fan would have been escorted to the gate, or at the very least, asked to cover the rude and inappropriate message on the shirt.

This is not going to help A-Rod endear himself to the New York fans.

Farnsworth on way out the door?
According to reports, after the blow-up between Joe Torre and pitcher Kyle Farnsworth, Farnsworth has been unavailable for the last two games due to what Torre told reporters was a sore or stiff back. When approached by reporters, Farnsworth said his back was fine and that he would have been able to pitch in either of the last two games if needed.

This sounds like someone who has seriously fallen out of favor with his manager, and might be suited to a change of scenery.

The hard truth...
The hard truth for Yankees fans is that their team through 79 games has won only 38. Sure, they're only about 8.5 games back in the wild card race, but the wild car leading Tigers are on pace to win 95 games. Seattle, Minnesota, Oakland, and Toronto are all between the Yankees and the Tigers and all are playing better baseball than the Yankees.

For the Yankees to get to that magic number of 95, the Yankees will have to go 57-26 for the remainder of the season.

It's time for New York to write off this season, trade some veterans for whatever they can get (and let's face it, Abreu isn't worth much, A-Rod is injured, decreasing their return on him, Giambi isn't worth anything to anyone, and a broken down Damon isn't going to draw much interest). But if they can get even three prospects that are even close to major league ready, that would be quite an accomplishment.

Let's look at one last hard truth. Brian Cashman isn't that great a general manager. He was not the architect of the World Series winners in the 1990's. Gene Michael and Bob Watson were. Watson and Michael built the farm system that produced Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, were smart enough to not trade away Jorge Posada, and generally had more power than what Cashman has been granted through the years.

Cashman has pretty much just had more that he could spend on the top free-agents than anyone else. This year he tried to put together a team on something of a budget and failed miserably.

Strange things are afoot at the Circle-K

For the last week or so the Mariners have been the best team in baseball. Yesterday, manager Mike Hargrove didn't just resign. When you read his words, as reported by the AP, it appears he has retired -

"I have never had to work at getting that level myself -- ever -- until recently. I've found that I've had to work harder in making that same commitment to my bosses, to my players and to my coaches. And that's not right," Hargrove said, turning away and choking back tears.

"They deserve better. They are good people. There is a good thing going on here. And it's time for me to leave."

Hargrove's voice often cracked. His eyes were moist and red, remnants of a meeting he called with stunned players moments earlier. He said he initially made his decision June 20, just after a six-game losing streak.

General manager Bill Bavasi said that on a scale of one to 10 on being caught off-guard, Hargrove's departure was "an 11." Hargrove agreed with Bavasi to delay leaving until the All-Star break, and Bavasi and McLaren tried to talk Hargrove into reversing his decision.

"We've won seven in a row and the feeling hasn't changed. I never thought it would end like this. And I am grateful that it has," he said, adding this is probably his last job.

The timing of the announcement is puzzling to say the least, but when you're heart's not into something anymore, success can seldom change that feeling.

Frustration mounts in the House that Ruth Built...
According to reports, the usually even tempered Joe Torre went nose to nose with Kyle Farnsworth, and players like Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada are attacking the professionalism of their teammates.

Scouts have speculated that the lack of depth in the minors has allowed for a lack of urgency on the part of the team's veterans. People like Robinson Cano know that there is nobody threatening to take his place if he plays poorly. This has led to speculation that, for the first time in over a decade, the Yankees will be forced to be sellers before the trade deadline...most likely selling A-Rod.

The question is, after so many years at the top, can Boss Steinbrenner and the Yankees brain trust adjust the mentality that has allowed the Yankees to clear-cut their own farm system for the last seven seasons in the pursuit of championships that never manifested? Can they change gears to rebuilding, or will they be stuck in this self destructive loop?

More football sizzling on the grid-iron...
After the announcement of the United Football League coming soon, it appears that a new league, the All-American Football League will beat the UFL to the starting line. The league plans on using college rules and playing in the spring in college hotbed areas.

An interesting idea, but it's not the first time a league has tried the spring in order to avoid competition with the more established leagues. I'm not convinced playing up the college rules is a solution either, as I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of the collegiate game.

However, playing the games in areas that don't have professional teams may be the smartest decision involved - it's the same thing that allowed for the development and growth of the Arena Football League. It's only been over the last decade that the AFL really made in-roads into major markets like Philadelphia and New York.

Throwback - looking at the Patriots Snow Bowl from the 2001 playoffs

Recently ESPN or the NFL Network ran a show on the greatest bad weather games ever played. Amongst them was the game the Patriots played against the Raiders in the Nor'easter in Foxboro back in 2001. As is the formula with these shows, they talk to commentators, coaches, and former players.

One of the former players that they talked to for this game was a former Raider whose name escapes me, but he wasn't even involved in this game. This dude played in the 1970's and he cemented the perception in my head that the whining nature of Raiders fans starts with their former players.

This guy addressed the tuck rule, saying that the refs made a call that was never made before, nor since. Of course the call had been made several times before in the regular season, and has been made several times since. And for the Raiders fans that want to continue whining about this, consider the following - "NFL Rule 3, Section 21, Article 2, Note 2: When a Team A player is holding the ball to pass it forward, any intentional forward movement of his arm starts a forward pass, even if the player loses possession of the ball as he is attempting to tuck it back toward his body. Also, if the player has tucked the ball into his body and then loses possession, it is a fumble."

And this - immediately after the overturned call, Brady completed a pass to a completely uncovered David Patten for a first down. The Raiders defense stiffened, forcing the Vinatieri field goal with less than a minute left to tie the game. It was not an easy field goal in those conditions, the refs did nothing to help the ball along, and based on the percentages at that distance (even in decent conditions) Vinatieri was unlikely to make that kick.

The Raiders got the ball back with 27 seconds on the clock, and I believe one time-out. Gruden had his team take a knee and go to overtime. Ample time to run between three and four plays in an attempt to get into field goal range.

The Raiders lost the toss and never saw the ball again.

A few important facts about the Raiders defense in the overtime loss - on the second pass that Brady threw, JR Redmond caught the ball for a short gain when two Raiders defenders blew tackles on what should have been no more than a five yard pick-up. Redmond turned it into a 21-yard gain.

Six plays later the Raiders had the Patriots in a fourth and four situation and gave up the first down. All in all, after the tuck ruling, the Raiders defense had 17 plays to come up with either a turnover or the big stop and they couldn't get it done.

On a separate note...

For Sox and Patriots fans traveling to our nation's capital, this place will make you feel at home. The owner is from Boston, portions of the staff are from New England, and they have the packages to get all the Sox and Pats games.