The NBA has a serious problem on its hands with the whole referee issue. I don't just mean Tim Donaghy's admitting that he shaved points. We now have an allegation by Donaghy that the refs and the NBA conspired in 2002 to fix a game, as discussed so well by Michael Wilbon in today's Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/11/AR2008061104008.html.
As a sports fan, what I can't understand is why this isn't bigger news. The game in 2002 that Donaghy has asserted was fixed was Game Six of the Western Conference Finals between the Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Lakers, a game universally recognized by basketball fans as being one of the worst officiated games ever, one where the refs single-handedly handed the game to the Lakers. This allegation should be the front page of every sports section in the United States, and yet it is not really generating much discussion. Can anyone explain that to me?
Showing posts with label Athletes Acting Like Criminals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Athletes Acting Like Criminals. Show all posts
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
More proof that the MLB players union doesn't get it
Baseball fans don't like Barry Bonds. They are sick of the whole story, and most fans believe that he juiced. THIS is why Bonds is not playing baseball this season. Yet, we now have the players union apparently investigating the owners for collusion against Bonds: http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=408786. Gee, Donald Fehr, do you think that maybe, JUST MAYBE, owners realize that this guy is a complete jackass and that they would risk alienating their fan base if they sign him?
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Is it 1994 again?
Somebody pinch me. I feel like I have dropped into a time warp and emerged in 1994, because all I see on Fox News, MSNBC and CNN is O.J. Simpson. Can anyone explain to me why this is such a huge story? I suppose that it follows the Anna Nicole Smith story, or the ongoing obsession with Britney Spears, etc., etc.
Why do we care what these celebrities do? Does it really matter in any of our lives? We have Iran pursuing nuclear weapons, ongoing Islamofascist terror in Iraq and Afghanistan, a genocide in Darfur (history will judge us very, very harshly for our willful ignorance of what is happening in the Sudan), terror threats from Islamofascists around the world, and yet O.J. Simpson's actions are the lead story on all three cable news networks.
It's absolutely pathetic, if you ask me.
Why do we care what these celebrities do? Does it really matter in any of our lives? We have Iran pursuing nuclear weapons, ongoing Islamofascist terror in Iraq and Afghanistan, a genocide in Darfur (history will judge us very, very harshly for our willful ignorance of what is happening in the Sudan), terror threats from Islamofascists around the world, and yet O.J. Simpson's actions are the lead story on all three cable news networks.
It's absolutely pathetic, if you ask me.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Some sporting thoughts for a Sunday morning
Did anyone else catch that Michigan-Appalachian State game yesterday? I know that the Wolverines have a tradition of coming up small in big games, but yesterday, they came up tiny in a minor game. Yes, I know that the Mountaineers of Appalachian State are the two-time defening Division 1-AA (or whatever the NCAA is calling it now) champs, but if you are the preseason #5 team in the country with national title aspirations, you can NEVER lose at home to a team that was so dismissed that there wasn't even a line on the game! Still, this game was one of the reasons that I love college football.
The baseball pennant races are heading down to the wire. While the Phiadelphia Phillies did complete a four-game home sweep this week of the division-leading New York Mets this past week, I just don't see the Phillies' pitching staff, especially without Cole Hamles, doing enough to keep Philadelphia in the race for either the division or the playoffs. Witness J.D. Durbin's line from last night's game: 0 innings pitched, 5 hits against, 7 runs against (all earned). Par for the course for the Foldadelphia pitching staff. In the NL Central, it remains the division that no one wants. Right now, the Chicago Cubbies are only 69-65 and lead the division by a 1 1/2 games, but have only gone 5-5 in their last 10, though the faltering second-place Milwaukee Brewers have gone 4-6 during that same stretch. Even the St. Louis Cardinals, who were given up for dead in May, are now back in it at 66-66. Out west, the pitching-rich and hitting-poor San Diego Padres are tied with the callow but talented Arizona Diamondbacks, with the Los Angeles Dodgers lurking four games back and the surprising Colorado Rockies five out. My NL postseason picks: The Mets, Cardinals and Padres, with the Diamondbacks making it as the Wildcard team.
In the American League, my Boston Red Sox still lead the East by five games, but they have reverted to their pre-2004 form of losing every game that matters to the New York Yankees. Right now, the Bronx Bombers are five games out, having shaved 9 1/2 games off of what was once a 14 1/2 game lead. In the Central, the Cleveland Indians have opened a 5 1/2 game led over the very disappointing Detroit Tigers. We all knew that Detrpot could hit, but I really thought that their pitching staff would allow them to cruise to the division title. Instead, it has been the downfall of a team that has underachieved. Still, Detroit is still very much in the Wildcard race, 2 1/2 games back of New York. Out west, it WAS a race up until a week ago, when the Seattle Mariners turned back into a pumpkin. They have now lost eight in a row, allowing the Anaheim Angels to open a comfortable 6 1/2 game lead with less than 30 games to play. My post-season picks: The Yankees, Indians and Angels, with the Red Sox hanging on to capture the Wildcard.
The U.S. Open began last week, and I really have no buzz about it. It's going to come down to Roger Federer and someone else, most likely Rafael Nadal, and Federer will win because no one else is good enough to beat him, plain and simple. Ultimately, the sublime Swiss star will go down as the best men's tennis player ever, though I do think that he needs to win the French Open to really cement that title. On the women's side, again I have no particular interest this year. There are no captivating personalities or at least as of this point, great story lines.
The NFL season begins next Thursday, and it should be a great season. I like the Patriots and Cowboys to meet in the Super Bowl, with New England rolling to its fourth title in the last seven seasons. I am sure that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wants nothing more than for the season to start, so that the focus on his league can return to the on-field product, as opposed to on the activities of Michael Vick, Chris Henry, Adam "Pacman" Jones, et al.
The baseball pennant races are heading down to the wire. While the Phiadelphia Phillies did complete a four-game home sweep this week of the division-leading New York Mets this past week, I just don't see the Phillies' pitching staff, especially without Cole Hamles, doing enough to keep Philadelphia in the race for either the division or the playoffs. Witness J.D. Durbin's line from last night's game: 0 innings pitched, 5 hits against, 7 runs against (all earned). Par for the course for the Foldadelphia pitching staff. In the NL Central, it remains the division that no one wants. Right now, the Chicago Cubbies are only 69-65 and lead the division by a 1 1/2 games, but have only gone 5-5 in their last 10, though the faltering second-place Milwaukee Brewers have gone 4-6 during that same stretch. Even the St. Louis Cardinals, who were given up for dead in May, are now back in it at 66-66. Out west, the pitching-rich and hitting-poor San Diego Padres are tied with the callow but talented Arizona Diamondbacks, with the Los Angeles Dodgers lurking four games back and the surprising Colorado Rockies five out. My NL postseason picks: The Mets, Cardinals and Padres, with the Diamondbacks making it as the Wildcard team.
In the American League, my Boston Red Sox still lead the East by five games, but they have reverted to their pre-2004 form of losing every game that matters to the New York Yankees. Right now, the Bronx Bombers are five games out, having shaved 9 1/2 games off of what was once a 14 1/2 game lead. In the Central, the Cleveland Indians have opened a 5 1/2 game led over the very disappointing Detroit Tigers. We all knew that Detrpot could hit, but I really thought that their pitching staff would allow them to cruise to the division title. Instead, it has been the downfall of a team that has underachieved. Still, Detroit is still very much in the Wildcard race, 2 1/2 games back of New York. Out west, it WAS a race up until a week ago, when the Seattle Mariners turned back into a pumpkin. They have now lost eight in a row, allowing the Anaheim Angels to open a comfortable 6 1/2 game lead with less than 30 games to play. My post-season picks: The Yankees, Indians and Angels, with the Red Sox hanging on to capture the Wildcard.
The U.S. Open began last week, and I really have no buzz about it. It's going to come down to Roger Federer and someone else, most likely Rafael Nadal, and Federer will win because no one else is good enough to beat him, plain and simple. Ultimately, the sublime Swiss star will go down as the best men's tennis player ever, though I do think that he needs to win the French Open to really cement that title. On the women's side, again I have no particular interest this year. There are no captivating personalities or at least as of this point, great story lines.
The NFL season begins next Thursday, and it should be a great season. I like the Patriots and Cowboys to meet in the Super Bowl, with New England rolling to its fourth title in the last seven seasons. I am sure that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wants nothing more than for the season to start, so that the focus on his league can return to the on-field product, as opposed to on the activities of Michael Vick, Chris Henry, Adam "Pacman" Jones, et al.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Not a good time to be a sports fan
Is this a miserable to be a sports fan or what? In MLB, we have the ongoing chase for Hank Aaron's all-time home run record by the steroid-fueled Barry Bonds. In the NFL, we have a neverending series of player arrests, culminating in Michael Vick's arrest this week for unepseakable animal cruelty. Now, we have an NBA referee accused of point shaving, which goes to the very integrity of the sport: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2943095. And though it is not technically a sport, we have professional wrestlers (who are unquestionably athletes) dying left and right (and tragically, sometimes taking others with them) due to suspected steroid abuse.
I want to know, how do I explain all this to my oldest son? He is a diehard sports fan. You can't go two minutes on ESPN, Foxsports, or any sportscast without yet another story dealing with these issues. I am almost at the point where I want the television turned off.
I want to know, how do I explain all this to my oldest son? He is a diehard sports fan. You can't go two minutes on ESPN, Foxsports, or any sportscast without yet another story dealing with these issues. I am almost at the point where I want the television turned off.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Beyond the Pale
This story is one of those that just absolutely sickens me. Football fans across North America have followed the the stroy of Michael Vick, and the dogfighting kennels which were found on his property. Well, now he has been indicted: http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/20070718_Vick_indicted_in_dogfighting_case.html. The details of the indictment are absolutely horrific, not only for the fact that this type of barbaric activity still takes place in a supposedly civilized society, but for the way that dogs who lost fights were "disposed of".
I've railed against Barry Bonds, but stories like this one provide a perspective check. Who has Bonds ultimately hurt? When he dies at a young age, we'll know the answer to that question. Vick, on the other hand, and if the allegations contained in the indictment are proven, has engaged in conduct which is abominable. Can anyone out there explain the mentality that thinks that dogfighting is acceptable? Is it just me who finds this so reprehensible?
I've railed against Barry Bonds, but stories like this one provide a perspective check. Who has Bonds ultimately hurt? When he dies at a young age, we'll know the answer to that question. Vick, on the other hand, and if the allegations contained in the indictment are proven, has engaged in conduct which is abominable. Can anyone out there explain the mentality that thinks that dogfighting is acceptable? Is it just me who finds this so reprehensible?
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
More miscreants in the athletic world
It's a good thing that the Cincinnati Bengals don't rate their players based on their character, because it's pretty apparent that this team is only one small step removed, for the most part, from an inner city street gang: http://www.comcast.net/sports/nfl/index.jsp?cat=FOOTBALL&fn=/2007/06/05/681441.html&cvqh=itn_nflstar. The city must be SO proud of this team.............
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