Integrity’s Place in the Box Score

I’m not sure what integrity’s won-lost record is but I have a damned good idea what lack of integrity’s is: 12 wins, 21 losses. That’s the won-lost mark put up by Little Lane Kiffin in one season plus as coach of the Oakland Raiders and one season as football coach at the University of Tennessee. For that, Kiffin got to break his Tennessee contract and sign a new one (for whatever that signature’s truly worth) at the University of Southern California which just had to have him and his 12-21 record. For all of his (lack of) success and skill at creating turmoil, USC will pay Little Lane $4 million a season to take their program back to the Rose Bowl and keep it out of NCAA hot water and keep the players out of trouble with the law. My money is on Little Lane succeeding at none of those goals. You think he left some bad feelings behind in Knoxville? Have a look at a minute or so of this video.

But if integrity took a headline-making beating with Little Lane’s move west (I wonder if the raging fans were most upset that his lovely wife Layla would be leaving, too) a more unexpected and disturbing question of integrity in sports took place this week in Vancouver, British Columbia, where the NHL Canucks play and where their emerging star winger Alex Burrows alleged that Referee Stephane Auger had called penalties on Burrows to make up for being embarrassed by a Burrows (unpenalized) dive last month in Nashville. The penalties on Monday night, probably cost the Canucks a game as they lost to the same Predators, 3-2, on a late power play goal. It’s all not so complicated as it sounds. See how the Versus guys explained it the other night.

So what if Burrows is telling the truth? If the referee did do what is claimed, the very soul of the game, of all games, is at stake. The video clearly shows Auger calmly talking to Burrows during the pregame warmup. To start with, I don’t think it’s proper for an official to take such an obvious interest in any one player before a game begins.

I worked at the NHL for six years a decade ago and I got to know and like and overwhelmingly respect every single official who called our games. (Well, everyone but one and I decline to name him.) I can flat out say that these guys respected the game, and the players who play it. They would be hounded at times by players and coaches and never let the words have any effect. I never once had a hint of an official say a player had embarrassed him, let alone threaten to retaliate by calling phantom penalties. During those years I attended between 50 and 60 regular season games a season and then at least another 25 in the playoffs. Before each game I’d visit the officials (that’s your team when you work for a league) and talk about that night’s matchup. Afterwards, I’d be back in their room, hearing about the match from the inside, getting some calls explained to me and learning each time more and more about this great game.

The biggest lesson I learned is that the officials loved hockey as much or more than any one of the men who played in the National Hockey League. Retaliating penalties? No way. Stomping all over the integrity of the game? Not a chance, not a blessed chance.

So, okay, did Alex Burrows make it up? Did he create a story to cover some bad penalties in a loss? This is a guy who is rapidly becoming a star in the NHL. Counting that game against the Preds, he had 9 goals in the Canucks first 5 games this month. His linemate, center Henrik Sedin, is leading the league in scoring as a result of assists recorded during Burrows’s hot streak.

“It was personal,” Burrows said. “It started in warmup before the anthem. The ref came over to me and said I made him look bad in Nashville on the Smithson hit. He said he was going to get me back tonight and he did his job in the third.”

No one knows what was actually said during that pregame skate. Did Auger say, “watch the diving tonight Alex; you got away with one in Nashville” or words to that effect? Maybe. Could Burrows have misinterpreted the meaning of whatever those words were? Absolutely. Was Auger wrong to spend that much time talking with one player under the glare of game lights? Yes and he should be reprimanded for that.

While Burrows has now been fined by the league ($2,500) for criticism of officials, no punishment or reprimand was  given to Auger. The league’s head of hockey operations, Colin Campbell, not the sharpest knife in the drawer, said the referee was “beyond reproach.” And when it comes to the integrity of the game and how it’s treated by the officials, I’d have to agree with Campbell.

So what happens the next time Alex Burrows and the Canucks play a game officiated by Stephane Auger? Nothing. Nothing except a hockey game.

Congratulations, Andre Dawson, Hall of Famer

When the news came out Wednesday afternoon that Andre Dawson was the only player elected to the Hall of Fame (no word ‘baseball’ needed, right, Mike?) I got thinking: Was Andre Dawson that great a player that he deserves to be in the Hall. And then I saw this video made last January:

And all kidding aside, seeing the Hawk in his Cubs uniform blasting one out to Waveland Street in the sunshine at Wrigley Field (homer in 1987, lights installed at Wrigley in 1988) and seeing how damned good he looked in a baseball uniform (any uni even his original Montreal Expos monstrosity) and seeing how good he looked on the baseball field (yes, even at awful Olympic Stadium) and recalling how well he represented the game with dignity and grace and courage for 21 seasons, and remembering how he compiled some pretty impressive statistics despite playing on no knees for the last 10 seasons or so and I have to agree:

Andre “The Hawk” Dawson is a Hall of Fame baseball player.

And thanks finally to the baseball writers, most of whom are so caught up in themselves (not our Mike Shalin, for sure) that they lose sight of some great players who deserve to be inducted (my biggest peeve is that Gil Hodges still is not in even with a vote from the Veterans’ Committee, a confederacy of dunces if there ever was one).

Dawson Highights: 438 pre-steroid era home runs; more than 1,000 extra base hits; a wonderful throwing arm that kept his assists totals lower than they could have been because no one ran on the Hawk; 8 Gold Gloves; one Rookie of the Year; one Most Valuable Player (that ’87 season with the Cubbies) and 314 stolen bases.

The stat-heads tell us that he was the only with this many of this and that many of that who wasn’t in the Hall of Fame. Now he is and I’m glad of it.

The other piece of news is that the Hall voters, all members of the Baseball Writers Association of America, are still idiots even if they got this one right. Bert Blyleven got closer this year than ever before and perhaps he’ll make it next January. Does he belong? I don’t think he does but he’ll probably get in because those guys will tell each other that he does and rather than voting for the man, they’ll vote with their friends.

Robbie Alomar came close on his first try and he’s sure to get the votes by next year or the year after. My super smart friend Amber Johnson thinks that Alomar’s spit in the eye of Umpire John Hirschbeck in 1996 was too long ago for it to have stopped at least 8 voters from choosing him (that’s how many more he needed). I think she may be right and she said that those guys probably were ‘slapping him on the wrist’ and will vote for him the next time. If Amber says it, it must be so.

The best sports video is at www.fandome.com.

Start Making Sense

Twenty five years ago the band Talking Heads did a concert movie, ‘Stop Making Sense’. It was a critical success. So I think I’m speaking for the entire sports world when I say after 25 years: Enough. Some recent events scream that is time to START making sense.

Such as?

The pissing match between the winningest coach in college basketball history, Bob (Chair Man of the Hardwood) Knight, and the coach who has taken his team to the most vacated Final Four appearances, John (My New, Soon to be Old, Kentucky Home) Calipari.

Last week the former championship coach of the Indiana University Hoosiers was at a fundraiser for the   Indiana basketball hall of fame (which apparently honors boorish fired coaches) and he decided it was time to take the mantle of savior of the college game. During his speech, he said this: “We’ve gotten into this situation where integrity is really lacking and that’s why I’m glad I’m not coaching. You see we’ve got a coach at Kentucky who put two schools on probation and he’s still coaching. I really don’t understand that.” And then Knight left the stage without taking any questions from media or attendees.

His target, Kentucky Coach John Calipari had nothing but praise for his attacker:

“I don’t agree with what he says but it doesn’t change how I feel about him.” How he feels is that he respects Knight as a basketball coach (the man does have 902 victories). Of course he does.

Knight was run out of town in Bloomington finally by the honorable Myles Brand, the former President of IU and the recently deceased Executive Director of the NCAA. His behavior finally outweighed his coaching skills.

Calipari has managed to take two unlikely teams to the NCAA Final Four, Massachusetts and Memphis and he left each school, as Knight said, with a mess on its hands that required forfeiting its appearances at the Big Dance. But that didn’t stop Coach Cal from taking the money at Kentucky. Just wait Bluegrass country. Your time’s coming.

And wouldn’t you pay to see a cage bout between these two? The kind of fight you would hope the winner dies of his wounds.

Vince Young now sane and perfect. MVP next?

When the Tennessee Titans QB faced adversity early last season—injuries, ineffective play—he was quickly cast as a loon. The police were called because Coach Jeff Fisher and Young’s therapist felt he had been talking about suicide. Who knows his intent?

But the fact was that Kerry Collins replaced Young as the Titans QB and Young didn’t play again in 2008. The Titans finished with the league’s best regular season record. And Fisher was completely bamboozled by Collins’s performance—and Young’s question marks—so he did the foolish thing of making Collins his starter this season. The result? Six games, six losses for the Titans. In desperation he turned to Young and he’s playing as if he’s facing USC in the Rose Bowl. The Titans are now 7-7 and are about to become bowl-eligible in the AFC.

We have no way of knowing this, but I wonder if the race of these two QBs had been reversed if the decision making would have remained the same. Collins, a white QB of medium accomplishment and many sidetracks, gets to take his team down the dumper. Young, a young African-American QB, gets sent to the bench and is turned to in desperation. What does it mean? You can decide, but I’m just saying I don’t think it happens this way from the other side of the racial coin.

The Yankees dump Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui and sign often injured Nick Johnson, he of the high on-base percentage.

Sure it makes sense to get rid of a guy a year too early rather than a year too late. And Damon and Matsui had eroding skills that make you wonder if they could repeat their outstanding 2009 seasons and postseasons. But really, Nick Johnson as the fulltime DH? He’s a guy who has a great eye and a fabulous on-base percentage but he’s ALWAYS hurt. I guess GM Brian Cashman decided it was good to get a fulltime DH whose body will not allow him to play fulltime for a full season (hasn’t had a full season since 2006) because that gives Manager Joe Girardi options of using ARod, Jeter or Posada as the DH on a regular basis. Makes some sense (ooh, here we go) but that doesn’t mean I won’t miss Johnny batting second or Hideki bringing some more class to the pinstripes.

The NHL is thinking of a second Winter Classic.

The NHL has remarkably accomplished something no other league has been able to do with its outdoor Winter Classic game on New Year’s Day. It has something absolutely unique, unmatched in any other sport a one-time only game in an unusual setting that has taken over New Year’s Day, granted full access to the day by the stupidity of the BCS system. Hurrah for the NHL.

So now what is Commissioner Gary Bettman thinking of doing? Taking this unique once a year, one time only, one place only event and adding a second one. Dumb idea if they do. Once is great. The teams compete to see who will host; the players love to be in the national spotlight in the US and Canada; and NBC in the US gets a highly-rated (for hockey) event. Many years ago, Major League Baseball thought the All-Star Game was pretty good so they figured, if one’s good, two would be better, right? Wrong. Loud wrong.

Brett Favre argues with his coach.

Now no one is about to put Vikings coach Brad Childress into the Hall of Fame, a destination that Brett is sure to reach but…if the coach sees that you’re getting your ass kicked and you really have nothing to play for in this Sunday Night Game and he wants to sit you down and protect you from the likes of the Panthers Julius Peppers, then maybe you should listen. Not Brett. He demanded to stay in and stay in he did. And he got his ass kicked along with his team, which was leading when Childress wanted to pull him. They lost to the Panthers, 26-7. Maybe Brett has it in his Wrangler Jeans endorsement contract that he has to play every second of every nationally televised game. Surprised ol’ Brett didn’t show up as a two-way safety for the Vikes on Sunday night.

So that’s it; the era of dumb is over. It’s time to start making sense and you all can start by not picking fights between snakes; by not trying to destroy a brilliant young QB; by not dumping two of my favorite ballplayers for a mediocre (but cheap) replacement; by not aiming at too much of a good thing in the NHL, and by shutting Brett Favre up, finally.

Wooden Heads in Golf and Hockey

What is it about success in sports that makes you immediately dumb? Well, not everyone’s successful and dumb; some are successful and smart and really worth our caring about them. Like this guy.

And then there’s the latest candidate for the Wooden Head of the Year, Tiger Woods. More words have been spilled in assessing Tiger’s Thanksgiving weekend ‘accident’ outside his Florida home than on something truly important, like the State Dinner Crashers (Hmmmm, movie idea for Favreau and Wilson). But I’ve got something to say.

“Tiger, talk once and it will end forever!”

I can’t repeat that enough. During my journalism career, I learned quickly and completely that the best way to end a negative story is to talk about it. The press doesn’t want to spend too much time on those that explain as much as possible, and apologize if necessary. Then I spent some years doing PR work and saw that reality from the other side. When we had a story that we weren’t happy about during my time at the NHL–an attempt by a former League exec to fix his election to the Hall of Fame, for example–we got in front as best we could, told what happened, apologized for letting it happen and explained how we were working to make sure it couldn’t happen again. Done. End of story. Do you remember the name of the exec who tried that shenanigan? I didn’t think so. (No fair, googling the answer.)

Instead with Tiger Woods we have this:

Did he drive his car into a fire hydrant and tree by accident? Was he trying to escape his understandably angry wife? Did Tiger leave his shoes under a bed that wasn’t hers? Were his cuts the result of flying glass or a flying five-iron?Are his apparent marital problem going to affect his No. 1 athlete in the world status?

You know, Tiger’s advisors should have sat him down two weeks ago when that titan of American Journalism, The National Enquirer, first told the world about Tiger’s apparent unfaithfulness to his beautiful wife Elin, and said: “Look, this is going to get uglier. Whether you did the deed or not, it’s not going away so be prepared.”

Then in a scenario that even the world’s weakest screenwriter can envision, the story got out of hand right at home. Thanksgiving celebrations rarely end in happy houses at 2:25 in the morning with the head of household tearing ass out into the night in an out of control Cadillac Escalade–with the possible exception of the New Jersey home of Tony and Carmela Soprano.

By the time the news fully leaked out–mid afternoon on Friday–Tiger and his functionaries should have been ready for a statement. Tell what you can; tell what you need; but tell. Don’t let the story–and his wife–swing in the wind for two days.

For good examples of athletes who have come clean and asked forgiveness I refer you to Alex Rodriguez and Andy Pettitte of Jeter’s Yankees. For those that didn’t, I give you Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and Roger Clemens.

Now Tiger’s not going to his golf tournament scheduled this week in California, claiming injury but surely not wanting to meet the media. Do they deserve to know more? Does the public? Doesn’t really matter does it? The time for asking those questions has passed.

—-

Can’t let a discussion of wooden heads in sports end without a knock on the noggin of the New York Rangers managing genius Glen Sather. Last season the fan favorite Blair Betts had his season (and Ranger career) ended by a cheap shot by the Washington Capitals Donald Brashear.

So what does brilliant Sather do in the offseason–cuts loose Betts, cuts loose Rangers tough guy who stood up to Brashear many times, Colton Orr, and he signs BRASHEAR. The fact that Brashear can no longer skate and seemingly cannot even fight any more makes this all the more mystifying two months into the NHL season.

With the recent play of the Rangers (someone described them as the Knicks on skates), the fans are getting restless. The last two games have been losses by 6-1 and 8-3. Pretty bad for a team that was supposedly strong on defense. If it continues or gets worse, I suspect Mr. Sather will have some splaining to do to the fans like my friend The Mouth.

Are You Kidding Me?

The great thing about blogging for FanDome is that we have videos to help tell the story. You see, things happen every day in sports that you wouldn’t believe unless you see it. This week, like most weeks in sports, there was story after story that defied belief. We cleaned up the headline on this post a bit but you know what word we wanted to use instead of kidding, right?

On Friday word came down that the god-awful Knicks had decided against signing free agent wild-ass shooter Allen Iverson, just cut by god-awful Memphis after 3 games because AI didn’t want to be used in a substitute role. That the Knicks decided that he didn’t fit into the team’s plans was amazing. Who knew that they actually had a real plan–that is one that may not include LeBron James. Good move by the Knicks, we say, but you were thinking of signing this guy? Are you kidding me?

That’s former Indianapolis Colts coach Jim Mora aiding and abetting on that spliced video, which shows pretty well why Allen Iverson may not be the right fit for a (perennially) rebuilding team.

The other day the NY Times had a fascinating story about San Jose Shark forward Jed Ortmeyer, whose career and life are threatened every game by a rare blood clotting disorder. Yet he plays and the team, the League, the god-awful NHL Players Association all think it’s OK. A man should make his own decisions and has the right to make a living, but, really, are you kidding me?

That should give you an idea about why Ortmeyer may need to have this decision made for him.

And football–college and the NFL–has been under fire for the danger its players face from the current and future impact of concussions. So Cal (an institution that should know better) had its star running back back in the game against Oregon State a week after he suffered what the team said was a ‘minor’ concussion against Arizona State. First, there are no ‘minor’ concussions. Second, the fact that you’ve had one makes you much more susceptible to the next one, especially without proper healing time. So naturally, there was Best doing an amazing leap into the end zone against Oregon State. The result? Are you kidding me?

Luckily he survived but, yes, he suffered another concussion. Best talked this week about hoping to return for the Golden Bears’ season finale on Dec. 5. Are you kidding me?

The NFL has taken big hits for the big hits that cause concussions. The Philadelphia Eagles are fighting for a playoff berth but after their star running back Brian Westbrook suffered a concussion (remember there are no minor concussions) against Washington in late October he sat out for two weeks. Not enough. He played last Sunday for the Eagles in their loss to the Chargers and guess what happened? Are you kidding me?

And from the source of more ‘Are you kidding me’s?’ than any sport, news this week that Larry Johnson is being rewarded for disgraceful behavior by being cut by the lousy KC Chiefs and being signed by the playoff bound Cincinnati Bengals. This guy has abused women, trashed his coach, hurled slurs about gay people and gotten into on-the-field and off-the-field altercations at a rapid rate. So, sure, send him to the playoffs. Are you kidding me?

And, finally, I know little about soccer, and ordinarily care less. But this video of the great French player Thierry Henry saving his national team and qualifying them for the World Cup with a clear hand pass has me saying, guess what? The referee missed that? Are you kidding me?

When Athletes Fought In the Wars

Imagine the leading hitter in baseball, Joe Mauer say, leaving the Major Leagues this offseason for a two-year turn flying jets for the Air Force in Afghanistan. Or how about the shortstop for the World Champion Yankees, that would be Derek Jeter, missing most of next season because his Army unit was called to active duty to protect the country during a crisis.

Or think of the NHL’s 2008 Calder Trophy winner Patrick Kane having his career delayed, not by an incident with a Buffalo cab driver but because he was serving in a war overseas and suffered such severe injuries that it almost ended his NHL career before it began.

As unimaginable as these scenarios seem, we want you to imagine them because today is Veterans Day, when we honor those who have served and are serving in the Armed Forces and those scenarios, unimaginable as they seem, have happened previously almost exactly as described.

So today the APB is asking you to stop and think about the greatest hitter in baseball history, Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox, who won the Triple Crown in 1942 and then missed the next three seasons serving as a pilot for the Navy and the Marines in World War II. Teddy Ballgame was only 24 years old when he went into the service but had finished four big league seasons—he had hit no lower than .327 (with his .406 season in there, too), he had driven in more than 500 runs and hit 127 homers. And then he was gone.

He came back, as most of the World War II baseball veterans did, but those seasons could never be recaptured. He played on for six seasons, establishing himself, as he put it, as the best f*****g hitter in the Major F*****g Leagues. Check out his OPS numbers for those seasons seam-heads.

And then he was gone again for two seasons at ages 33 and 34, called up by the Marines to fly combat missions in Korea—39 in all, serving as wingman for future astronaut and US Senator John Glenn.  And though Ted is said to have resented his being called back at that age from Inactive Reserves, he went and flew and damn near lost his life.

When he came back this time, the days were beginning to run out for the Splinter. He finished up in 1960 with a homer on his last at bat, heroic to the end, so heroic the list of people who rank Ted Williams as their No. 1 American hero is long and contains a lot of people you’ve heard of. Like this guy.

On Veterans’ Day, we must remember the sacrifices so many have made to protect our country. Once upon a time what Pat Tillman did in giving up his NFL career and then losing his life fighting in Afghanistan (under certainly murky circumstances) was not unheard of.

Bob Feller, perhaps the greatest right-handed pitcher in big league history served four years in the Navy, missing probably the most productive years a pitcher can have, ages 23 to 26. Feller didn’t spend his tour pitching for the camp baseball teams. He served. Watch a minute or two of this Feller interview to share his memories.

And in hockey the stories abound of players serving (mostly for Canada) in World War II. My favorite is Howie Meeker, whom I had the pleasure of knowing. Meeker was a highly regarded Junior player from Kitchener, Ontario, who served two years in the Canadian armed forces, suffering severe leg injuries when hit by a grenade. But by the fall of 1946, Meeker had recovered well enough to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs, scoring five goals in one game to tie a record for a rookie that still stands. At the end of that season, Meeker beat out a Red Wings rookie named Gordie Howe for the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year.

But it’s not only World War II when some of our biggest sports heroes served. In 1961, the Yankees won the World Series with a leadoff hitter and shortstop named Tony Kubek. Then a growing crisis with the Soviet Union over the divided city of Berlin had many reserve units recalled, including Kubek’s. And off he went, missing most of the 1962 season. Unimaginable today. Even a bright young future Yankee named Bobby Murcer spent two seasons in the Army during Vietnam instead of the Yankee uniform he had already been fitted for.

There are so many more to honor with our thoughts and actions today—millions of them, like my Uncle Bernie, my cousins Milt and Irv, my pal Tony. But take a minute to think of big leaguers like the great Tigers slugger Hank Greenberg, who was drafted, served, was discharged before World War II and then re-enlisted at the age of 30 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Hank missed most of the next four seasons, too.

Or think about Yogi Berra in the D-Day invasion; or a promising young pitcher named Lou Brissie, who served in the Infantry in WWII, having his left leg shattered while fighting in Italy. He came home to 23 major operations on his leg and somehow managed to come back and pitch—a steel brace on his wounded leg— in the big leagues for most of six seasons and won a total of 30 games in the 1948 and ’49 seasons, even pitching in the ’49 All-Star game.

And finally think about hockey’s Dudley “Red” Garrett, a promising defenseman with the 1942-43 New York Rangers who was in the Canadian Navy when his ship, the Shawinigan was torpedoed. There were no survivors.

10 Reasons Why Fox World Series Coverage Sucks

1—We’ll start with the play of the year as far as I’m concerned and a World Series play for the ages. In the ninth inning of Game 4 Sunday night,  Johnny Damon stole second and then third on the same throw in the top of the ninth inning. When Damon battled Lidge for nine pitches  with two outs before lining a single to left field, you knew that Lidge was nearing the end of his effectiveness. No mention was made by Fox announcers Joe (Pearl Jam Man) Buck and Tim (I Talk but Say Nothing) McCarver about how much the at bat had taken from Lidge.  With Mark Teixeira at bat and Damon on first, the Phillies moved into an overshift . Not that Joe or Tim thought to mention it (to my ears at least). So when Damon took off for second to steal you would think that SS Jimmy Rollins would handle the throw. But no, it was 3B Pedro Feliz. Damon was safe and immediately popped up out of his slide and took off for third. What? The ball hadn’t gotten loose. Where was he going? He knew–and we soon found out–  that no one covered third. The lack of information made it hard to figure out why what was about to happen was about to happen. Of course, Johnny made it to third, easily outrunning a hopelessly overmatched Feliz. And while Joe and Tim did mention that Lidge would now be afraid to throw his slider to Teixeira (he solved that by plunking Tex) and he was forced to throw fastballs to ARod (who doubled). But at no time did they make it clear who could have been covering third on Damon’s steal of second—they mentioned Lidge could have done it but didn’t say he was way out of position as he ducked Carlos Ruiz’s late throw to second. Jimmy Rollins, the shortstop? You see him in the replay in a position to get ahead of the runner heading to third. Nope, never mentioned. The catcher  Ruiz? Nope, he stayed at home instead of covering third as he could and should have. No mention. So much happened on this great play that needed explanation and expansion and we got none of it. You think I’m exaggerating? Watch.

2—I’m sure ‘Avatar’ is going to be a very big movie this Christmas; it looks great. But what the hell was it doing opening Sunday night’s World Series telecast? What’s that? Synergy? It’s a Fox movie. Screw synergy. This is the World Series. Make the movie buy commercials like the rest of the sponsors (and give it a few spots to replace those stupid Direct TV ads with long-ago has-been Dana Carvey and the formerly luscious Kim Basinger).

3—Brad Lidge was awful this season; everyone knows it, especially Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel. So Manuel coaxed a few decent appearances from the spooked closer this postseason but he made it work only in spots where Lidge had a comfortable lead—too easy to fail situations. Not like Sunday night. But there were Joe and Tim neglecting to mention that fact when Lidge came on to pitch the ninth inning. This was not a too-easy-to-fail situation and fail Lidge did. But did our stellar broadcasters tell us any of that? Ummm, no.

4—Joba Chamberlain made his mark two years ago with the Yankees with a 96 mile an hour fastball and a wicked slider. In fact, most of his strikeouts came on the slider. Fastball (strike one), fastball (strike two), fastball (high and away), slider in the dirt (strike three). Take a seat. So when Joba fanned the first two Phillies in the bottom of the eighth Sunday and the Yanks ahead 4-3, the fact that he did it on fastballs was worrying to the Yankee fans in the audience (or anyone who actually pays attention to baseball details which would be all of us except two voices I know). With Pedro Feliz at bat, McCarver proclaims, he can’t go away from his fastball now. Two strikes to Feliz on fastballs and then two balls on sliders in the dirt. “He has to throw the fastball here,” says Tim. Well, no, he doesn’t and no, he shouldn’t. But throw it he did and Feliz pumped it into the left-field seats because, as Tim quickly pointed out, “a major leaguer’s going to be able to catch up to a fastball eventually.” Huh? That’s what’s called making sure you are always right. Slider there and we go to the ninth at 4-3. But not in McCarver’s world.

5—Camera shows Yankees ace reliever Mariano Rivera in the bullpen during the top of the ninth and he has a heating pad under his arm. “Is he hurt?” the voices wonder. No, he’s not hurt. That’s the way the great man stays warm on a cold night. Keeping the muscles warm with the pad makes the first warm-up throws that much more effective, a fact that a bit of homework by Joe and Tim and their producers might have uncovered. Instead, thousands of Yankee fans looked for the nearest ledge.

6—Top of the ninth, two out, Johnny Damon up, and Tim says, “if the Yankees don’t take the lead, Joe Girardi may have Chamberlain come out and pitch the ninth.”  Good thought Tim except for one thing: Hidecki Matsui had already pinch-hit for Chamberlain two batters earlier and popped out. No designated hitter, means no designated hitter pal.

7—In attempting to wax poetic about the big day in sports in Philadelphia Joe Buck talked over an aerial view of the South Philly complex that includes Citizens Bank Park, Lincoln Financial Field (home of the Eagles which kicked some NY Giants tail earlier in the day) and the dimly lit, soon to be demolished Spectrum. “Pearl Jam’s playing there now in the final event ever” says Joe. But the concert was Saturday night as most knew and then Joe went off about spending his Sunday afternoon listening to the new Pearl Jam album. Ooh, you are so cool Joe Cool. Tim, of course, had no idea what he was talking about.

8—Who exactly put the camera in the field of play for Saturday night’s Game 3? When Alex Rodriguez hit his line shot off the camera lens in the fourth inning, Tim actually got it right on the first replay when he said “home run” long before the umpires (don’t get me started on them) made the call. The ball hit off the camera above the home run line. Whose camera? Fox’s camera, of course, which had slid beyond the barrier into the actual field of play. Did anyone question on the air what a camera was doing affecting play? Not on your life? Did anyone talk about it last night? Not that I heard. Did we ever see where the camera was last night? Not that I saw. It’s disgraceful (and completely unnecessary) for baseball to have to deal with this issue in the World Series but that’s what you get from folks who seem not to respect the game even one bit.

9—When Alex Rodriguez was hit by a pitch in inning No. 2 Saturday night, you didn’t think much of it. After all, Mr. $30-Million-a-Year had not had a hit yet. But then he lined his carom shot home run in his next AB and lined out to center following that. When he came up in the seventh and the Yanks ahead by 6-4, Johnny Damon was on second. First base was open and there were two out. Intentional walk time. But Phillies’ reliever Chad Durbin figured “why waste time” and plunked ARod again, clearly as intentional as an intentional walk. But our Timmy jumped in and said: “no way you hit Alex Rodriguez intentionally there.” Is he kidding? And when ARod came up in the top of the first to begin Sunday night’s game he got another fastball in his upper arm. Once again Timmy told us, “no way” I have a secret for you Tim. “WAY.” Jeez even the umpires figured it out.

10—Ozzie Guillen speaks what language again? Who thought it would be a good idea to put the Chicago White Sox volatile manager in a suit and overcoat and hand him a microphone. I don’t like the way this sounds but really can anyone understand a word that Ozzie’s saying? His colleagues on the pregame show—Chris Rose, Eric Karros and Mark Grace—are so bad I prefer not understanding Ozzie than listening to them.

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ARod: You CAN Handle the Truth

Watching the remarkable run this postseason by the Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez makes me wonder just what he could have accomplished without the steroids and with a bit more honesty. But that’s time out of hand and we’re enjoying watching a great player (though still not the most likable dog in the pound) play, well, great.

When he got through destroying the Los Angeles California Anaheim Angels of Anaheim and Points West on Tuesday night, supporting CC Sabathia and his huge performance, ARod came off the field and actually seemed thoughtful and, dare we say, a bit humble. He didn’t say: “Hi, I’m Alex Rodriguez and I’d paid $30 million a year to play freaking baseball and I’m just an ordinary guy.” But what he did say impressed me when he was asked about his record-setting hot streak.

“I feel really good. I feel liberated. There are no profound answers.”

And that was it. No deep self-analysis of the greatness of ‘me’.  No focusing every bit of attention on himself. Nothing. Just a bit of honesty.

Of course this season began with ARod forced into the disclosure of his past steroid use, outed by a Sports Illustrated reporter whom he tried to at first discredit. But then someone somehow got hold of him. His teammates, who attended his press conference in Tampa admitting his steroid use, seemed disgusted by him. But that day, as uncomfortable as he was, he admitted the truth: Yes, he used steroids in the past.

Next he injured his hip and left the team for surgery and recuperation. And he came back as good–or better–than ever as a player in May and, I have to say, more agreeable. Let’s not hold parades for him yet, but seeing his admission and how it has worked out for him makes you wonder and marvel at exactly how bad the advice and counsel and self-satisfying decisions were that were made to deny deny deny by the likes of Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and Roger Clemens.

Imagine this, Alex Rodriguez teaching a generation of less than forthcoming athletes that the truth will actually set you free.

Well, that and a new squeeze, Penny Lane herself, Kate Hudson.

Giants Are 5-0 So Why Me Worry?

Well, I’m not reeealllly worried, not with the Big Blue Team of Destiny sitting very pretty at 5-0 and with a comfortable cushion over the dysfunctional Dallas Cowboys (I mean, really, do you fret about a team that has to listen to Wade Phillips). The Giants haven’t started this well since the 1990 season, a season that ended with the Giants winning one of their three Super Bowls.

But still, the start of this season has been beautiful to watch until you realize the records of the teams Big Blue has beaten is 6 up, 19 down. In fact the last three weeks the wins were over teams with 0, 0 and 1 win.

Yes we know that you can only play the games on your schedule and the Giants were handed a beauty (at least early season) this year.

Redskins in Game 1:  they looked completely unprepared and by the time they got untracked the Giants were up, 17-0, and coasted from there. Since then the Redskins have bestowed first victories on the Lions and the Panthers.

Cowboys in Game 2: The ‘tough’ stretch ended with a last-minute drive by the Giants and a last-second field goal by Lawrence Tynes to put away the Boys with one million people (really, I counted them) in the stadium for the opening night of the new Dallas pleasure palace. Since then the Cowboys have lost at Denver and almost lost to the 0-5 Chiefs.

Buccaneers in Game 3: A shutout, a no-hitter and almost a perfect game. The Bucs didn’t even get a first down until late in the third quarter and the GMen won 24-0.

Chiefs in Game 4: I wonder what the Giants were truly thinking when they saw their schedule. Can you send it back because it’s ‘too easy’ as the Aussies say.  Giants ‘only’ won by 27-16 but the Chiefs scored two late TDs to make it that close.

Raiders in Game 5: I mean really. The Raiders played like they had met for the first in the parking lot on the way inside. QB Eli Manning shows no ill effects of the foot injury that kept fans guessing all week if he’d play. The Giants win, 44-7, and Eli shows that he is as tough as we think he is. He only has to play a quarter and a half to get it done.

Now, the season starts. The Giants head to Eli’s hometown of New Orleans to play the Saints on Sunday and the one weakness the team may have—the defensive backfield—will  be in the spotlight. Saints QB Drew Brees is third in the league in passing (Eli’s No.2 and big brother Peyton is No.1) and there are at least four receivers who are better than anything Big Blue has seen in weeks. Add in that the Saints are coming off a bye week and at home and, well, there’s reason to worry.

It’s amazing how quickly you can go from agony to ecstasy as pro football fan. Two seasons ago, we were pained as the Giants lost their first two, and then disgusted by how badly they played in losses later in the season. And then the playoffs—victories over the Bucs, the Cowboys (heh, heh) and the Packers (thank you Brett Favre, says Corey Webster)—and the Super Bowl, my favorite game of all time.

What started so bad turned out so good. See, turnarounds can happen.

After New Orleans the Giants schedule really begins and there are 2 games with the Eagles (who will not injure themselves showing off any Super Bowl rings), another Cowboys game and games at Denver and at Minnesota. We haven’t had Aaron Ross in at cornerback all season; we’ve lost hitman strong safety Kenny Phillips for the year and safety CC Brown has taken a bad penalty or three.

So, yeah, I’m worried. But then again, it’s better than disgusted.

Yankees and the Three-Man Rotation

The Yankees and the Angels end their week’s vacation on Friday night (if the rains don’t come) and New York is talking about a three-man starting rotation for the ALCS. Why not? Their late-season shenanigans with starter Joba Chamberlain has rendered him virtually unreliable as a starter now. He’s a force out of the bullpen and the list of players sitting out there waiting Joe Girardi’s call is pretty awesome. But it all won’t matter much if the starters can’t keep the Angels somewhat in check. Key man has to be CC Sabathia, who’s going to get 3 starts if this goes 7. This is a good series that right now faces weather issues on both coasts. I go with head and heart and say Yankees in 6.

In the NL, you have to think that Brad Lidge is more the pitcher of the regular season than the guy who got one batter out for a series ending save on Monday. Dodgers in 7.

Friday Night/Saturday Morning by Miguel C.

(Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera shared these thoughts with The APB on Monday.)

It seemed like a good idea. My buds on the Chicago White Sox wanted to go out and have a beer with me.

Hey, we’re all brothers after all. Sure the Sox beat us on Friday night, 8-0, and sure I went 0-for-4, and, yeah, I’m supposed to be the best player on the team, and all right, I’ve been here before, and what do you think, that we’re going to lose the Central to the Twins because I went out for a beer?

OK, you’re right, it wasn’t a beer. Maybe it was 2 or 3, but really what difference does it make. I wasn’t driving.

And, yeah, my linda, my wife she wasn’t too happy when I came home. Gee, can’t a guy who’s in the middle of a pennant race go out and have a 3 or 4 beers (OK, maybe 5). But c’mon.  These are my buds, my guys, mi amigos. And my Tigers are going to the playoffs and the Sox are going home. It’s what guys do, isn’t it?

So what if I was yakking on the phone when I walked (all right stumbled) into the house. It was 6 o’clock in the morning for god’s sake, isn’t that about the time she’d be waking up anyway? What did she have to go and hit me with my cell phone for just because I was making a little noise. What does she expect after I had 6 or 7 beers (all right, 8).

I don’t understand what everyone’s getting so upset about? Yeah, I shouldn’t have pushed her and scratched her face but hey, she did it to me, didn’t she? At least I think she did, after all I did have 8 beers (all right 9).

But the police they came and took ME away. Why’d they do that? Just because I may have pushed my wife, woken up my kids and had some fun with my friends. What’d they expect. After all I did have 9 beers (yeah, yeah, it was 10 beers).

Did the cops really have to check my blood alcohol and then tell everyone about it? After all I wasn’t driving and all I had was those 10 beers (ok, you got me, 11). And then they went and really did it–they called Dave Dombrowski and woke him up at 7:30 in the morning. He’s the president of our team and he needs his sleep. I wish they hadn’t gone and done that.  And you know what they told him? They told him my blood alcohol level was at .26. My batting average is higher than that! And I don’t know how it could be so high since all I had was those 11 beers (all right 11 beers, a few shots of Patron Silver and that one bottle of Cristal). Gee, can’t a guy have any fun?

We weren’t playing again until  Saturday night. Do you think I can’t handle 11 beers (hmm, maybe 12), that half bottle of Patron and those two bottles of Cristal. I’m young, I’m healthy and we are going to the playoffs, right?

So, do you really think I cost us Saturday’s game, too? Just because I went 0 for 4, grounded into a double play, left runners in scoring position twice? I mean I can’t get a hit everytime, especially after I got home at 6 o’clock in the morning and THEN got taken to the police station. I mean how’s a guy supposed to get his rest.

And do you think it’s fair to expect me to do better than 0 for 11 in the final three games? I mean it’s not as if I’m leading the team in home runs, RBI, batting, on-base percentage is it? What’s that? I am leading in all those things? Well. You see I did all that when I wasn’t carrying around 6 months worth of booze in my blood that I got in that one night.

I mean is it my fault that we now have to play the Twins to win the AL Central? Yeah, you think it is. Well, I tell you I’m going to be ready for that game Tuesday night in Detroit. I promise.

(Editor’s note: Of course the Detroit-Minnesota playoff is in Minnesota.)

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