The Sports Rumors

Vick, City of Atlanta In For a Long Year

I had said only a couple of days ago here on this site, that I was not going to cover the Mike Vick topic unless some new factual information was released, or unless there were some new major developments. I don’t take pride in throwing out my opinion on what should or shouldn’t happen, going off of a lack of knowledge on the subject matter. It’s not what I do and not something I suggest others to do. In fact, I hate it when other people, like L.A. Times writer Bill Plaschke for example, go on the air with just as little knowledge as anyone else, and adamantly say what the NFL should do with Vick. It irks me that people can be foolish enough to throw out their meaningless two cents without knowing even one percent of the case details.

Unfortunately however, these people in the media have made this situation into such a circus, that I have no choice other than to write something about it. If you’re looking to read what punishment I think Vick deserves, you might as well close this window because you’re not going to find that here. I’m not going to be an idiot and announce a sentence for someone who has yet to even be charged officially, let alone be proven guilty in a court of law. Instead, I’m going to break down the elements that I believe have made this case into such a big media spectacle. Some topics are bland and obvious, some are very touchy.

Before I continue, let me preface my article by saying that I in no way condone acts of dog fighting or any participation in cruelty to animals. I myself have a dog and a cat. I could not fathom committing or participating in any acts of cruelty towards them. That being said, I hear a lot of outrage from PETA and other animal rights organizations. I know of their plans to protest at every NFL game if Vick is allowed to play. I agree with them in the fact that cruelty to animals has, allegedly, been committed and this is something not to be taken lightly. I disagree with them singling out Mike Vick for it, without knowing for FACT, just how involved he was.

Don’t tell me that PETA wasn’t licking their chops when they saw that a celebrity, one of the most marketable and famous football players in the country for that matter, was accused of being involved. For animal rights groups, this is something they relish. Before you throw your arms up in the air and say “What is this guy talking about”, hear me out. I’m not saying that those activist groups WANT animals to be abused. I’m not saying that at all. Animals however, have been, are, and will always be abused somewhere. As long as humans walk this earth, animals will be abused in some form or fashion. But the concept I am bringing here about how these groups love it when a celebrity can be their target is the same way CNN, FOX news, NBC and others love when there is a disaster or tragedy of some sort. Why? Because they get to cover it. They get their money from it, they get their ratings from it and that is what their job is. You can’t be a reporter if there is no story. You can’t be an animal activist if there is no animal cruelty. Your activist organization will not get any funding if there is no public knowledge of what you are an activist against.

When a celebrity is involved in something like this, the animal rights groups go after them like no other. I understand they are trying to use the celebrity to bring light to the situation for the common public to recognize what types of things are going on. However, I think of these activist groups as being hypocritical. I do appreciate a lot of the work they do. But tell me why we never hear about dog fighting in other regions and what is being done to stop it? Clinton Portis said himself that this goes on in Mississippi all the time and in other southern states. PETA has come out and said that dog fighting is a very big problem. Okay, then why did we not hear a WORD about it before Mike Vick was involved??? Where was the media coverage of it then? Granted, it wouldn’t be as big of a public story if a celebrity wasn’t involved, but it’s not like there was much of an effort to expose dog fighting. No one I spoke with had ANY knowledge of something like this being so huge and rampant. My point is; Mike Vick’s celebrity status is one element into why everyone has rushed to form an opinion about whether he is innocent or guilty, which isn’t fair because he hasn’t had due process yet.

The second element of why this story is so electric and is gaining so much momentum as each day passes is one that I don’t like to get into because it is so sensitive in nature. However, we have to recognize all factors and elements, regardless of how touchy they may be. The factor I am speaking of is race. Race has a lot to do with this story’s awareness. I have heard a lot of discussion about this on sports radio. Some people simply dismiss it and say it has nothing to do with it. Others say it does.

(Note: I am not talking about race being a factor in whether Vick is charged or not. I am talking about race being one of the reasons the story has so much power and attention right now. It is very important to differentiate the two.)

I was listening to a lot of the callers who chimed in with opinions yesterday. I’m going to be honest, a lot of times you can tell which caller is an Asian guy, which one is a white guy, which one is a black guy. You know it, I know it. It’s just how it is. So based on what I was hearing, a lot of the black callers were saying that they support Vick and they were more in favor for letting the trial go through before suspending him from the NFL. The white callers seemed to want Vick suspended sooner rather than later. I wouldn’t write something like this without having more evidence, so to speak, than of a radio show. I saw the same kinds of responses when people were being interviewed on T.V. Of course there are exceptions. A good friend of mine, a white 24 year old, said that he thinks the NFL should wait before jumping to suspend him. So I’m not saying if you’re white, you want him suspended and if you’re black, you condone what he has allegedly done. Not saying that at all. But a lot of the arguments coming from both sides are ones that suggest race being a factor, a major one at that.

Atlanta residents were interviewed yesterday. As most people know, Atlanta is the current “King of Hip Hop”. Some of the most famous rappers and artists (Usher, Lil Jon, Jermaine Dupree, Bow Wow) reside or come out of that city. Again, most of the Atlanta residents who were black felt that Vick was being gone after in a way that say, Peyton Manning, would not have been gone after. I think that has SOME truth to it. You disagree? Consider this. Do you think Mastercard or Reebok would stop airing Peyton commercials immediately or stop the release of his shoe based on an indictment? Do you honestly believe, that the entire world would vote 76% in favor (as reported by ESPN’s poll two days ago), to suspend him immediately, based on alleged charges for which he hasn’t even had an arraignment for yet? I think not.

If you still don’t believe me when I say that race has a lot to due with why this story is so magnified, look all the way back at O.J. Simpson’s case. You remember seeing the pictures of black people rejoicing and white people looking angry or even crying after the verdict was announced. That case ended up having more to do about the racial divide than it did about the actual murder! It was more black man vs. white woman than it was human on trial for double homicide. Can’t think back that far?

(O.J.’s verdict. Picture says it all.)

Kobe Bryant accused of raping a white girl. I don’t even have to go into detail about this because it’s still fresh for most of us. Think back to those who were bashing him and those who were supporting him. The court of public opinion was racially divided. Don’t remember the details from that? Here’s the most recent one.

Duke Lacrosse. White rich kids vs. poor black girl. The town of Durham was so ready to explode, due to the racial element to the story that they had to have police onsite for months. Not days or weeks. Months people. This is what I have a problem with, but there is really no quick solution to it. When anything major happens where someone famous is accused of a crime, race becomes a factor. We stop looking at the facts of the case and we start forming positive or negative opinions, innocent or guilty verdicts about the person based on race rather than substance. It’s within most of us even if we don’t realize it. So to think that race has nothing to do with the court of public opinion is not only preposterous, it’s being blind to the obvious.

I don’t know what the future holds for Mike Vick. I really don’t because something like this is unprecedented. I know he’s potentially in a lot of trouble, emphasis being on the word “potentially”. I do know that this case is not going to go away anytime soon and as we move forward and more facts come out, unfortunately, you will see even more of a divide among the races regarding the way things are being handled. You will hear bad things said about blacks and their culture. You will hear bad things said about white prosecutors, judges and their bias. Atlanta, a racially diverse city, is in store for a bumpy 6-12 months. It is unfortunate that in 2007, we are still not at a place where we can look at facts as facts and people as people, instead of classifying each other as racists without having any concrete knowledge.

(You thought Durham, NC had racial elements? Welcome to Atlanta.)

NFL PREVIEWS ARE HERE

(I don’t even need a caption for this picture)

Okay ladies and gentlemen. My previews and predictions are officially in action now. I started writing about the NFC South today but then I realized how much I want to talk about each team before giving my prediction. I don’t want to write one paragraph and then give you my final thoughts without justifying them. Therefore, I edited my format for this piece. I’m going to go team by team, hopefully on a daily basis, giving a comprehensive look at additions, subtractions, rookies, schedule, etc. Today I’m starting with the New Orleans Saints. I will go division by division but in no order within. For example, for my slow people, I did the Saints today, I could do either the Panthers, Falcons, or Bucs tomorrow… by random choice). I hope you enjoy this segment and feel free to contact me with thoughts and opinions. Email link is on the upper right of the page. PEACE OUT!

NFC South Preview: Team 1 of 4

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

Preview and Prediction

2006 Record: 10-6

Division Ranking: First

2006 Result: Lost in Conference Championship to Chicago 14-39

What a great season the Saints had last year. One of the most memorable and electric home season openers took place in New Orleans when the Superdome opened back up to the delight of a city who couldn’t have needed a football team any more than they did at that point in time. The Saints brought joy to the lives of those who had lost everything due to the devastation of Katrina.

But did anyone really see a 10-6 season en route to a Championship Game coming? I certainly didn’t. I remember when they started off 3-0. I was happy for them but skeptical in analyzing them because I thought, “Well, one win came in the first game back in New Orleans so that was all emotion. The other two were against juggernauts…if we were talking about the 1950s: Cleveland and Green Bay.”

But then six weeks later, their record was 6-2 and half the season was done. “Okay so maybe they have a chance at making a run at the playoffs; a chance.”

Then they improved to 9-4 in a complete trashing of Parcells’ Cowboys IN Dallas and I became a believer. We all know the rest. The Saints went on to finish 10-6, defeating the Eagles 27-24 in the Divisional round (after earning a first round bye), then eventually getting throttled by the NFC Champion Chicago Bears.

I, for the second straight year, will be somewhat skeptic about how far I think the Saints can go. Not because I am not a believer of Drew Brees or Reggie Bush or Sean Payton’s coaching. I am a believer of them. But have you looked at the Saints’ schedule? Let me give you a quick run down of teams they face this year, not including their division games.

At Indianapolis (Defending Champions)

Tennessee (Up and coming team with a guy named Vince something)

At Seattle (Perennial Playoff team)

At San Francisco (Beat Seattle twice last year, great young core, up and coming)

St.Louis (Not a cakewalk)

Arizona (On the verge of breaking out, for the 17^th year in a row)

Philly (Only lost to the Saints by 3 in the playoffs last year)

At Chicago (Waxed Saints last year en route to becoming NFC Champions)

(I just realized that the Saints play both teams from last years Superbowl in the same season!)

Throw two games against the Panthers, Jeff Garcia’s Buccaneers, and the…Falcons. That’s not an easy schedule folks, even though the Saints are a very talented team. They let Joe Horn go this year but replaced him with a good young talent from the University of Tennessee with the 27^th overall pick, Robert Meachem. He should fit in well with Peyton’s pass-first style offense. They picked up Antonio Pittman, running back from Ohio State, which really didn’t make much sense to me considering they have Deuce Macalister and Reggie Bush in the backfield. Anyway, given their additions, subtractions, strength of schedule, and a bunch of other factors that I don’t feel like listing, here is my prediction for them.

(I’m not going to just be like everyone else and give you a final season prediction. I’m going to give you predictions for each quarter of the season so you can keep up and bash me 4 times a season instead of just once when I’m wrong.)

First Quarter: 2-2

@ Indy – Loss

@ Tampa – Loss

Tennessee – Win

Carolina – Win

Second Quarter: 2-2

@ Seattle – Loss

Atlanta – Win

@ S.F. – Loss

Jacksonville – Win

Midseason: 4-4

Third Quarter: 3-1

St.Louis – Win

@ Houston – Win

@ Carolina – Loss

Tampa Bay – Win

Fourth Quarter: 2-2

@ Atlanta - Win

Arizona - Win

Philadelphia - Loss

@ Chicago – Loss

Final Record: 9-7

(The Saints will have to tightrope their way into the playoffs this year)

David Beckham. MLS. Over-hyped.

Obviously, the guy is here now. The savior of soccer is here in the U.S. Beckham-Mania is in full effect.

I’m not buying into the hype though. I’m not buying into Beckham. I’m not going to get excited about an over the hill European star who decided to come to the paparazzi capital of the world with his snotty looking wife. I’m not going to run out and buy Beckham jerseys because quite frankly, I think this whole thing is going to be a dud. Here’s why:

The argument has been made that Beckham coming to the states will open up the floodgates for more stars to come here and play in the MLS. That’s an “if-then” statement though, and a major if-then at that. If Beckham does GREAT here, then yes, possibly some European players will venture over here to give it a shot. Even if they do come, and when I say ‘they’, I’m not talking about all the superstars from Europe. I’m talking about a few more over the hill stars, or potential stars coming here. Why would stars leave an area like South America or Europe where soccer, without question, is the number one sport viewed and relished by the public? Why would they leave that to come to where soccer wouldn’t even crack the top 4 of major sports. Let me remind you, incase you forgot, what sports soccer would compete with for attention.

1. National Football League (August-February, not even counting the Draft)

2. Major League Baseball (Pretty much all year)

3. National Basketball Association (October-June)

4. NASCAR (All year)

They would be competing with the NHL’s and the WNBA’s and even Golf. So don’t think for a second that European players are dumb enough to leave the money, the fame, and the glory to come to a country that doesn’t know the first thing about soccer, and to a country that would only pay attention to soccer by the masses if nothing else was on TV. Do you think soccer, during a Pennant race would stand a chance with ratings or fan turnout? People from Chicago, New York or other major markets would go to an MLS game over a baseball game when their team is doing well? I think not. Do you think soccer would stand a chance against the NBA playoffs? Do you think soccer would even get on the map in the south where NASCAR is king? No. It wouldn’t. And this is all ASSUMING that Beckham does phenomenal here in the states and draws more stars in the coming years. I’m not talking about today. I’m talking about 5 years from now. Let’s not forget that NASCAR is growing rapidly in their popularity. That’s why the common sports fan can name players like Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards. So you can bring a couple of stars over from Europe and have them play in the states. That’s all fine and dandy but don’t expect for soccer to break the top four any time soon.

“Well I’m not talking about cracking the top four sports and becoming that popular. I’m just talking about how Beckham will make the sport, the league better than before.”

That’s a valid statement. But what I’m saying is the hype that he has gotten is the hype that you expect for someone to really make a MAJOR impact on the landscape of a sport that still has contingencies to other major sports. Meaning, Lebron James’ hype was real and valid because his impact on the sport, on Nike, the landscape of sports was enormous. If all this hype for Mr.Beckham is to make the sport “better than before” but not shoot soccer up on the chart of most watched or most profitable sports, then I’m adamantly say that its overdone, over-hyped, overrated, over-whatever. And let me again, remind you, this is all considering the best case scenario in which Beckham thrives in the states.

What if he doesn’t play well? What if he gets injured?

“Oh well what-ifs apply in anything. You can’t think that way”. Yes, I can think that way. I know what-ifs apply in anything, but they are there for a reason. Because they HAPPEN. You can’t just assume the best. Hope for the best, plan for the worst is what wise people do to avoid complete disarray when things don’t go their way. So now let’s assume Beckham has a bad season or a bad injury. What spin does the MLS put on it then? Are you still going to attract the stars from Europe? Not a chance. So basically, the hype, the publicity, the mass advertising of Beckham is all based on assumption that he does great. Well, I hate to be Debbie Downer but if he fails, you’ve set your league back years.

“So what are you saying, don’t bring in a David Beckham?”

No, I’m not saying don’t bring him in. I’m saying this hype is unjustified in my opinion and I feel that he will not live up to the expectations.

One more thing before I close this topic.

I brought up the fact that Beckham isn’t a prolific scorer. He’s not the Kobe Bryant or Allen Iverson of soccer where he’s just knocking goals in left and right. I asked a good friend of mine who is a source of a lot of accurate knowledge about his take on Beckham as a player. He said to think of Beckham as Steve Nash; a facilitator.

Will being a facilitator be enough for people who are tuning into MLS for the first time? I don’t think so. I think when people will tune in to see Beckham, they are going to want to see him do either one of two things:

a) Score goals, or

b) Facilitate and create opportunities for teammates which will lead to them scoring WELL beyond the league average. Meaning they score 4 or 5 goals as opposed to the average of say, 2 or 3.

If Beckham can successfully complete option “b”, then people will stay interested (but still not interested enough to justify the hype or put soccer over the top four sports mind you). If Beckham does lead his team to high scoring games, then yes, he is a facilitator like Nash.

However, if he does not, then he is not a Steve Nash. He’s a Stephon Marbury. Steve Nash facilitates, yes. Steve Nash also leads his team to be the highest scoring team in the league two years running and teams where Nash has played on in the past 5 years have been in the top three scoring ALL FIVE YEARS. So Beckham had better make sure that one way or another, that ball gets in the net and it gets their quite frequently because Americans don’t have the patience to watch low scoring games; not even baseball. (Baseball tweaked many rules to make it more high scoring. That’s why you don’t see 1-0 games that often anymore, for those of you who were going to try and take that angle at me).

“Of course he won’t raise scores, it doesn’t work like that in soccer. You watch to see a good player make magic.”

In the rest of the world: True

United States: False.

Tim Duncan, magical player, doesn’t interest anyone outside of San Antonio. Baltimore Ravens defense of a few years ago, magical, one of the best ever. NFL responds by changing rules to make the games higher scoring because guess what? People didn’t care. And I already mentioned the MLB. I hate to be the barer of bad news but magic in the United States IS high scores. Low scoring NFL games don’t draw ratings. Low scoring Basketball games don’t draw ratings. Low scoring Baseball games don’t draw ratings. Low scoring soccer games with Beckham playing or not, well, I’ll let you finish the sentence.

(Don’t fool yourself into thinking saving the MLS was on Beckham’s mind when he decided to come here. You’re smarter than that.)

Quick Thoughts.. Vick, Summer, Football!

I’m sure you have seen/read/heard about Michael Vick by now. If not, see the links for ESPN on the upper right side of the page and get caught up. I’m not going into detail about this topic yet for a few reasons:
a) I don’t know enough about the facts and I don’t like to just speculate based on nothing
b) The alleged charges are pretty disgusting (electrocuting dogs who lost fights etc.)

That being said, I was listening to ESPN Radio on the way home from work and was tuning into Doug Gotlieb’s show “The Pulse”. Gotlieb had John Kincaid on via phone conference. They went on to talk about Vick and what the Falcons should do. Kincaid went on to say that Arthur Blank, owner of the Falcons, should forget the salary cap hit and just cut Michael Vick. He said to “send his bags packing”. He went on to justify this by saying that having Vick on the team is a public relations nightmare. He said it would be better to just cut him and be done with him.

Umm. What??

So you’re saying to cut one of the most prolific superstars in the league when he hasn’t been proven of anything yet??? Seriously? You’re saying to cut a player, take the cap hit, and get NOTHING in return? Do you really want to talk about a public relations nightmare Kincaid?

Cutting Mike Vick doesn’t help your situation in Atlanta. First, consider the fact that no matter what has happened, he is LOVED in the city and the state.

(For those who have read my previous articles: As I’m typing this, ESPN Deportes has just come on to the tv screen. Wow i’m so interested in 10 seconds of spanish women swimming.)

(Now I just heard Beckham is sore and questionable for the season opener 10:55PM EST, for those who just read my article above. I’m not saying I can see the future but I’m pretty damn good. No more interruptions now.)

If you have ever been to Georgia, you will see that Vick is to that state and the city of Atlanta what Shaq was to southern California. So if you think cutting him and getting no compensation is good for public relations, you are quite frankly, out of your damn mind.

Cutting a player of his caliber, then having Joey Harrington start for the season, and winning maybe 5 games and setting the franchise back 3 years is going to lead to more public relations problems buddy. Having a losing team with quality citizens is worse for the city than having a criminal (allegedly) leading your team to playoff contention each year. At least Bengals fans, as embarrassing as their team character has been, AT LEAST they have something to be excited for when the season starts. Bobby Petrino designed his playbook around Vick. He traded Schaub away because he wants Vick as his QB. So getting rid of a guy who hasn’t been convicted, or even charged at this point with anything, is so beyond the realm of reasonable thought that I have no words for it.

Another thing. Innocent until proven guilty. I can’t stress that enough, as bad as this looks. Kincaid said that the fans of Atlanta will never welcome Vick back after something like this. Oh really? So are you telling me the fans of Atlanta have so much more class than Baltimore fans who embraced Ray Lewis after he was connected with a murder?! Please.

One last thing on this topic before I put it off for the future when I have more facts. I love and respect Mark Schlereth’s commentary and analysis. I do disagree with him on something he said today on NFL Live. He said that he doesn’t see how Michael Vick can have a successful season after this looms over his head for the duration. Well, Kobe dealt with a rape charge, which is much more severe, and he seemed to do fine; one of his best years actually. So I disagree on that aspect. Anyway, thats enough of that for now. Stay tuned for more info and facts as they come in.

—–

I know it’s July 17th. I know we’ve just kicked off the start of the second half of the baseball season. I know Barry Bonds is about to break the record. I know the Yankees are in trouble. I know Arod news and rumors are hitting the fan. I know there is a lot of parity in the league this year. I know David Beckham is officially here. I know that NBA Free Agents are signing with new teams. And yet, all I can think about is college football and the NFL.

Normally, you don’t talk about the two until August. But as I heard Colin Cowherd say this morning on his radio show, “The Herd”:

There are two seasons in sports for America. Football Season. And Waiting-For-Football Season. Two seasons. That’s it.

I could not have said it any better myself. This country has a football addiction. You can go anywhere in the country…anywhere. You can go somewhere so unlike your normal place of living and talk about football. A 25 year old stock trader from New York could go to a 65 year old wheat farmer in Nebraska. They have nothing in common; Except football. Football is our great common denominator.

That being said, I don’t care about other sports stories right now (quite frankly, nothing that interesting is happening anyway). I am going to talk about football when nothing else major is going on. Wednesday, I’m going to start with an article on the NFL’s AFC South and NFC South. I’m going to break down each team, their schedule, and where I see them come the last week of the season. Thursday I’m going to do the same for college football. I’m going to break down the ACC Atlantic and the ACC Coastal. The day after that will be the AFC North and the NFC North. The day after that will be the Big 12 North and the Big 12 South. I think you see where I’m going with this.

Of course I will cover other relevant important topics as they come. But since everyone loves football, we are going to look at every conference and every team from both college and the pros and disect them and split them and research them because thats what the sports fans want. Thats that the sports fans will get.

(Oh it’s that time people. It’s that time.)

Quick Thoughts on Federer v Nadal

Originally, I was going to write a whole column about this rivalry and break it down from all different aspects. Then I realized that I don’t know enough about tennis or it’s history to accurately paint a picture for my readers and let them know where I’m coming from. Since I base my writings off of accuracy, true knowledge and interest, I don’t want to sell people short by writing about something I don’t know enough about. So instead of a whole column, here is my opinion on the rivalry:

I think it is one of the best rivalries in sports today. I don’t think it’s on the level of Red Sox-Yankees and others because to be quite honest, not that many people tune in to tennis. However, watching that match was amazing. It was a few successful returns by Nadal away from being an upset of Federer. I do know enough about tennis to say that I think Federer, when it’s all said and done, will go down as the best to ever play the game. I do believe he will surpass Sampras’s mark of 14 Grand Slams (Federer currently has 11).

Nadal is 21, not at his prime yet and Federer is 25, at the peak of his prime. This is why I usually stay away from the debate about who is better because both players are phenomenal, but are also at different stages of their careers. It’s clear to see though that Nadal is catching up to Federer on grass while Federer still struggles on clay. “Doesn’t that make Nadal the better player then? I mean he’s catching up to Roger and he’s not even at his prime yet, like you said.” This is the argument I get from friends on this topic. My response is no, he’s not better because he hasn’t won the way, or dominated the way that Roger has. I don’t have the stat infront of me (if someone can find it and send it to me, I’d appreciate it), but I want to know what their head to head record is, and how many of the games were on clay and how many were on grass.

I heard an interesting viewpoint the other day about the rivalry and the debate about who is better. The person said that this is similar to an NBA Playoff Series in the sense that, it hasn’t really begun until someone beats someone on their homecourt. If i win my two games at home, and you win your two games at home, we’re still even and the series hasn’t started yet. But if you come into my house and beat me, then you have the upperhand and it’s on at that point. I feel its the same concept with Federer v Nadal. Until one of the two beats the other on their tourney (Wimbledon for Federer and French Open for Nadal), we don’t have a clear cut, 100% leader because they are so neck and neck.

Now that being said, my prediction is against what most people foresee. I think Roger will beat Nadal in the French Open before Nadal beats Roger in Wimbledon. When that happens, game on.

(Yeah, I’m sure they really love each other.)

A Look Back at the All Star Game

(I’m a baller, pretty much)

I’m sure by now you have checked the headlines on the sports site of your choice and seen the final score of the MLB All Star game last night (for the slower ones, the AL beat the NL 5-4). I have to say, that was a very entertaining game, especially considering the fact that it’s an All Star game and those usually end up really boring regardless of what sport it is. I can’t even remember the last time I watched a full quarter of the Pro Bowl, the worst of the All Star games. Anyway, there were some good storylines from last night that you can talk to your coworkers about around the water cooler today.

Starting with the inside-the-park homerun by Ichiro and a 3 for 3 night for the Japanese superstar. He’s had a hell of a week. First he signs a $100 million extension with the Mariners, then hits the first ever inside-the-park homerun in MLB All Star game history, en route to going a perfect 3 for 3 at bat, all leading to him winning MVP honors. Doesn’t get much better than that folks. I saw an interesting poll on espn.com asking who is the best center fielder in the game right now. My snap judgment was to say Carlos Beltran but then I looked at some of the things Ichiro has done all year, and the past few years for that matter, and I am rethinking my opinion. I think it’s because I’m on the east coast and see a whole lot more of Beltran (plus he’s in the New York media market) that I think of him as better than Ichiro. You don’t really hear much about Ichiro nationally unless he does something big, like his consecutive games with a hit streak a while back. Seattle isn’t really a bumping market either so we sometimes under appreciate guys like him. Point being, what a performance.

Barry Bonds almost knocked one out of the park last night but fell a few feet short. He went 0-2 for the night, got the loudest ovation obviously and that was about it.

Now for the juicy headline from last night. Bottom of the 9^th, 2 outs, bases loaded. La Russa is the manager for the NL. Krod is not playing well and his pitches have been erratic. Game is on the line. Albert Pujols, La Russa’s superstar on the Cardinals, has not stepped into the game yet. Perfect time for him to come in and at least get a single and tie the game up, right? Not according to La Russa.

La Russa was apparently saving the star incase the game went extra innings because of Pujols’ versatility. La Russa explained, “Once we lost [Miguel] Cabrera and [Freddy] Sanchez, he was the guy we were going to use to protect ourselves in case we kept playing because of Albert’s versatility, I think we had the right guy at bat.”

Pujols was very upset after the game and made some understandably angry remarks saying, “It’s the All-Star Game. He can do what he wants. He does whatever he wants. If I wasn’t expecting to play, I wouldn’t have come up here.”

To which La Russa responded, “If he wants to get upset, he can get upset. Whatever he wants to do, he can do. It’s America. That wasn’t the most important thing tonight.”

Umm, yeah so the Cardinals clubhouse is going to be an uncomfortable and awkward one later this week. La Russa is a winner and a hall of fame manager so I’m not going to sit here and knock his decisions because I’m sure he was trying to win the game. However, I don’t see how in the situation they were in, he can not put Pujols in. Also considering the fact that he’s his own star player and hasn’t gotten to play in the game at all. I know his job is to manage the game without bias towards his own players but come on, we all know that’s not how things really work. Can you imagine if Phil Jackson was coaching the NBA All Star game and didn’t put Kobe in? I’m not saying Pujols is Kobe by any means, talent wise or attitude wise for that matter, but, you’ve got to play your star at some point in the All Star game! I don’t know much about Pujols attitude or personality. I know he’s a good guy and I’m predicting that he and La Russa will have a talk and everything will be fine. Fun stuff to watch though.

In Response to Questions…

Had some really good questions yesterday regarding the soccer column as well as a lot of feedback on the Bonds’ piece. Keep sending me your questions and comments people and I’ll make sure they are responded to.

Colin’s response to soccer related questions…

Three questions regarding the following:

“For reasons I still don’t understand, Bradley decided to ok a roster that was largely young and inexperienced. Why? The MLS felt that if too many ’star’ players were called away for a few weeks then the quality of the league would significantly drop, Hence allowing several of the well known players for the team, including Landon Donovan, to remain with their respective clubs.”

(1) I ask out of ignorance, but how much power does Bradley have in this regard? Can Bradley put his foot down and insist on getting the top tier players? If he does so, does he damage his relationship with MSL?
Although Bradley used to coach in the MLS, he technically no longer has ties or a “relationship” to uphold with them. His duties are to the governing body, the US Soccer Federation, who in turn also regulates the MLS. While I also am not completely familiar with the ins and outs of national team selection, I would assume any appeals he would have in terms of the squad he is picking would go to the USSF, not to the MLS. Technically he should have final say in the squad he chooses, although usually coaches will make exceptions depending on the actual competition and the location of players (ala Bradley wouldn’t expect anyone playing in Europe right now to come back for meaningless friendly or even for the ongoing Copa America tournament, although he should). In my opinion though, the way we get the international scene interested in US soccer, and in turn the MLS, starts with the National Team. So if we go 0-3 on a big stage because we field a young, inexperienced team, it could reflect poorly on the quality of US Soccer in general. The players are at Bradley’s disposal, and it is up to him to put in the necessary effort to assure the best players are representing us at all times.

(2) Should MLS change its schedule to account for the international competitions?
I’ve always thought the MLS was on an awkward schedule. The well known leagues in Europe run from August-May (only a 10 week offseason), while the MLS runs only from April-November (over 4 months off). International competitions, such as World Cup Qualifying, tournaments like Copa America, and friendlies run year round. However, while the majority of the world was on break from their respective domestic league play, the MLS was in full stride during the world cup. Did anyone pay attention? I would assume not, with the greatest tournament every four years being played concurrently. Not only did the quality of play in the MLS suffer, so did the fan base, at least for that month. In my opinion it would fare well for the MLS to try to adopt the European league schedule; it seems to be working just fine for them.

(3) If Beckham is still on England’s team after he arrives here, is it possible that Beckham will cause some changes in MLS’s attitude toward international competitions?
Well, Beckham should remain on the team, being as he was recalled only recently, and will be introduced in LA in only 2 days. Steve McClaren, coach of the England National Team, tried his luck by not only relieving Beckham of his duties as a captain, but also failing to call him up for several world cup qualifiers. Beckham was left out of a friendly against Greece in August 2006, and it wasn’t until a friendly against Brasil on June 1st of this year that he was called up again. Because of the team’s struggle to earn results, McClaren was adamant about bringing him back, and is adamant about calling him up for every national team competition now as well, even if it is only a friendly. The MLS has no set rules nor very expressed opinions about international competitions (they’ve never held Jaime Moreno back from playing for Bolivia, nor Stern John for Trinidad and Tobago, etc) but it is supposed to be a given that international obligations trump those of domestic league play. Alexi Lalas, current President and GM of the LA Galaxy, has said ” He has a responsibility on and off the field to our organization and our sport and he recognizes that,” and that he doesn’t “want to stand in the way of a player representing his country but they have to be the appropriate games.” However, under FIFA regulations, no club can prevent a player from representing his country, even if just for a friendly. It will definitely be interesting to see if the the small feud between Lalas and McClaren grows into something bigger over Becks in the coming months.

My Final Verdict on Barry Bonds

Let me preface this article by saying this; I have spent the past two years listening to fans and the media complain nonstop about Barry Bonds and his quest to break the record. I listened how it’s wrong, and how it’s tainted because he “allegedly” used steroids. I watched Philly fans turn their back and face the opposite direction everytime Bonds was up to bat (they should probably do that anyway because their team sucks ass). There have been 392,745,235 Outside the Lines Nightly reports and investigations on Bonds. Yet we have found nothing. No evidence worth a dime to ban this guy from the league. So I’ve had enough of the bitching and moaning. If you’re a Barry Bonds hater and all of a sudden, in love with Hank Aaron even though you’ve likely never seen a full game of his in your life, click the “x” at the top of the screen and save yourself the time of reading this next piece.

I spent yesterday evening watching TV and listening to various sports journalists like Jay Marriotti, Woody Paige, etc. go on about how Barry Bonds has a “responsibility” to participate in the Home Run Derby because the fans voted him in. He is “obligated” to do it for the fans.

No. He’s not obligated to participate in the Home Run Derby and he doesn’t have a responsibility to the fans either. His responsibility, like Arod’s, is to his team. Barry Bonds is obligated to the San Francisco Giants. Not the fans that voted him into the All Star game. If you invite me to a party, I will come. That doesn’t mean I have to do a kegstand. I don’t have a responsibility or obligation to you to get plastered just because you invited me to your party. Same concept with Bonds. If the guy doesn’t want to swing his hardest at balls being tossed 30 mph at him, he doesn’t have to. Him participating in this slugfest would be good for who? For Major League Baseball. Why should Bonds do ANYTHING for Major League Baseball at this point when it’s not even clear yet that the commissioner, the hypocrite that he is, will be at the biggest sporting event of the year (breaking of Aaron’s record). What has the MLB done for Bonds? They are searching as hard as they can to find ANY slight bit of evidence that can get Bonds kicked out of the league. That leads me to my next bit of ranting.

I don’t care if you’re Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, Luis Gonzalez, or Rafael Palmairo. I don’t care if you had a spike in home runs during those years in the 90’s or not. I really don’t. I don’t care if you did steroids. Do I think it’s bad? Yes. Do I think its bad for the game overall? Absolutely. But the fact of the matter is, pretty much everyone was on the juice. Not just hitters. Do you think pitchers were playing fair and hitters were the only ones sticking syringes in their.. well, you know where. I can’t understand why more people don’t view this matter in the same light as me. The game in those years was artificial to some extent but if everyone is using ‘roids, (for the most part), then the playing field is still relatively even. Yeah so instead of hitting the wall, some balls were homeruns. Same concept with pitchers though. Instead of taking a week to rest up, they were coming back a day or two quicker. They were throwing the ball a bit harder, a bit faster. Everything stayed relatively proportionate. So to single out Bonds, McGuire, and Sosa, after riding their wave and them pretty much keeping baseball on the map is so hypocritical that it makes me sick.

Lastly, we all know Barry Bonds is going to break the record. It’s a done deal. For those of you who are all bitter about how it’s happening, I understand that and that is fine. But be a witness to history because at the end of the day, the steroids era, good or bad, was history. Bonds breaking this record is history. And you don’t have to be bitter for too long because it’s only a matter of a couple of years before Arod becomes the all time home run king. Bonds breaking this record will actually bring closure and we can all move on, no matter what our opinions or beliefs are about the era. And one more thing. Bud Selig had better be there when it happens because he knew this stuff was going on the entire time. That being said, history is a few weeks from happening. Watch it. Love it or hate it, that’s on you. But at least say you were there when the games best hitter, or the games biggest cheater, broke the most hallowed record in all of sports.

(like it or not, it’s going to happen folks. Witness history. Good or bad, it’s still history)

Screw Work, Read This

Good Monday Morning to you people. So after some thought and consideration, I have decided to launch a new segment on this blog which you all will hopefully enjoy. I have a friend who played soccer at the collegiate level, passed on the MLS draft and began playing in Europe. We both usually have lengthy talks/debates on various sports topics and it’s good because he brings a perspective of a professional athlete, and I bring the perspective of an enthused fan. The different viewpoints often lead to us both looking at things a little bit differently. That being said, the new segment will happen every week, or maybe bi weekly (depending on the feedback I get from you all). We will talk about the latest, most relevant sports topics over instant messenger. After we’re done talking/debating/fighting/threatening each other’s lives, I will post the conversation on the site for you all to read. Hopefully it’s a hit with the people.

Today will be a little different. He wrote me a little blog on the state of U.S. Soccer and I will post that first. Then I’ll post my opinion on why American’s don’t pay attention to soccer at all, for the most part. That being said, lets move along.