Running Into the Weekend

Is it just me or is this the longest week ever? I feel like I've been going to work for a week straight already, and it's not even Friday yet.

Funny stuff out there today. This won't exactly be a run-down, but I am going to jump around a little bit.

First, Shaquille O'Neal is quite the character. Today, he played Nostradamus, informing the public that he will cease to be a professional basketball player in "735 days." He says he's going into law enforcement. There is only one word for this: awesome. Hopefully, he'll be a beat cop for a little while so someone can give him his own reality show. (I would DVR that, too.) Personally, I'd like to see him become a lawyer. He certainly has a way with people, and they love him even when he's openly dissing Kobe Bryant (T.O.: take note). This bodes well for his ability to sway a jury . . . but says nothing about his ability to rap. I hope he retires from rapping in 735 days, too . . . or sooner. I mean that in the nicest way possible . . .

Vince Young took to the cameras to re-affirm that he's OK and that there's nothing to worry about. I, for one, didn't believe you'd lost your love for the game, as some have charged. But I'm going to have to agree with the PTI guys here, Vince. Mama and coach don't just jump in the fray and call the police over nothing. People are hating on you and will continue to hate on you until you right the ship, but don't let them get you down. Keep fighting the good fight. You can do it . . .


I'm going to give this college football thing a try so I can see what all the fuss is about, starting with Ohio State's game vs. USC. It's not like I've never watched a whole game, it just didn't really factor into my family's sports viewing habits so I only really watched it if someone I knew was playing or a bowl game. I'm kind of mad that it's looking like I won't get to see this guy Chris "Beanie" Wells play, which means I may have to watch Ohio State play again at some point when he's finally back (which may help my viewership). 2,500 comments about one guy's injury on ESPN.com? Clearly, I'm missing something . . .


Speaking of Ohio, folks there are peeved with its native son, LeBron James, for his affinity for sports teams located outside of its borders. (Warning: I'm actually supporting him here. I think I'm getting soft in my old age.) He's a fan of the NY Yankees, Dallas Cowboys, and Chicago Bulls - all teams that have enjoyed tremendous success in their respective sports, particularly while James was growing up. It seems like he's just like half of the country in his preferences, even picking up on "America's team" in the Yankees and Cowboys. I don't really see anything wrong with that. While it may seem hard to understand how a man can root against the home team when he has lived there his whole life, I know plenty of people who have done it. My guess is popular teams gain the most fans they're winning, and the most successful teams tend to keep those fans even if they start losing. But, come on, it's LeBron James. He likes winners because he strongly identifies with what they do . . . win, which is more than can be said for most of the teams in Ohio (pro, not college, of course). Sure, it probably stung the Cleveland Browns to see him donning a Yankees cap, blue and silver tee, and saying what's up to his boys on the Dallas Cowboys sideline, but I think they should just be happy he's still playing in Cleveland . . . for now . . .

Speaking of Cowboys, Tony Romo made a stop on his way home from Cleveland last Sunday night to help a couple change a flat tire. The couple said that 100 cars drove by before someone stopped to help them. And he'd just gotten over a dozen stitches in his chin. I think it's great that he stopped, which I know most people (including me - not at night!) wouldn't have done, and clearly didn't do here. But I'm most happy that he knows how to change a tire. I had wrongly assumed my whole life that all men knew how to do this until a few months ago. This is one area where equality isn't so important . . .


Rounding up with football, Ricky Williams proved that you can negotiate your own contract when he re-upped with the Miami Dolphins, all by himself, with no agent (Look ma, no hands!). I don't know how well he negotiated it, but if anyone can, he can. I think some of his past actions have caused people to underestimate how intelligent he really is. I'm encouraged to see veterans taking control of their own decision-making. Most lawyers/agents may not like what I'm going to say, but I look at it like this: if you've gone to trial 5 times for the exact same offense, you could probably do a pretty decent job defending yourself on the 6th one. Just a thought . . .


Have a great weekend!

Running from for Office*

Late night at the office, so as much as I wanted to avoid it, sometimes you just can't help having to. . . run. It. Down. Here goes:

1) 31-year old Daunte Culpepper, once a celebrated QB, now says he can't get a callback (much less a quarter back - ba dum bum!). He claims it's because he stands up for what he believes in and represents himself, which the league and teams don't like. On PTI (can't stop gushing about my love for DVR these days!), they basically said his personality must suck, and I tend to agree. There are plenty of team with - excuse my language - piss-poor QB's that Culpepper could play ahead of or behind. My benchmark here is none other than Joey Harrington. Joey had a job until he got a cut a few days ago, and if he can get a job . . . I'll stop here, but suffice it to say that Harrington's record speaks for itself, and if he's getting looks ahead of Culpepper, Daunte must really be in the inferno. Here's hoping he lands something in this tough economy.

2) It turns out that Chad Ocho Psycho** Cinco is not alone in his interesting name change. SI.com did a flip through Vault piece on this, including 13 different athlete name changes. If I had to pick one to take the cake, I'd have to go with the athlete formerly known as J.R. Henderson. After a stint at UCLA, Henderson wasn't able to find basketball success here, so he went to Japan and became a star. But it seems that he was too black to be put on Japan's national team. Not to fear, Henderson had a plan. He would change his last name to Sakuragi, get a Japanese passport, and then all would be well. "Well" meaning he could earn double his salary because he wasn't a foreigner, but not "well" for the national team, which failed to make it to Beijing for the Olympics this summer (and hasn't done so since 1976). That's dedication.

3) LeBron James got his "highness" handed to him by a warehouse worker in a game of H-O-R-S-E. I can't say that I'm really that surprised, since special skills aren't really Bron Bron's forte. Had he lost in an ego-strength competition, then I might have worried. But seriously - and don't tell anyone I said this - kudos to King James for even agreeing to participate. He just made this guy's life, which means if you know him (and even worse, if you play pickup ball with him) you're probably in for a real treat from here on out. (". . . and I kicked LeBron's ***, what have you done?")

4) Redeeming himself after the slight at the Republican National Convention last night (see asterisk at bottom of that post), Eli Manning and (Plaxi) Co. opened up the year like they ended it - with a win, this time over the Washington Redskins. I was at work and didn't watch the game, so that's all I've got for you, except that, as noted during the RNC, the Giants still don't get any respect. And they probably won't unless they win another one. One day, Eli. One day.

5) Another event I couldn't watch today but would have liked to: the U.S. Open. Someday, when I get to that U.S. Open round-up, perhaps I'll talk about the #3 male player in the world, Novak Djokovic, and his struggle to win over the fans. He got some positive attention when he did impressions of Raphael Nadal and Maria Sharapova, but since then, the crowd just hasn't been on his side. When I was in attendance for one of his matches the other night, I did notice that a lot of people were cheering for his opponent but I thought it was because they wanted to see more tennis (even though it was 1 a.m. and I was quite ready to go home). Maybe they just really don't like him. He can certainly make the occasional incendiary remark, as he did tonight following his win over "America's son," Andy Roddick.

Literally, I think sometimes his delivery just doesn't translate into English very well. Although he has a tendency to get "over-amped" and have a short temper, I really don't think he's a bad guy. It takes a big man to apologize for his remarks this evening - which he did - and he has seemed in the past to be truly hurt by the lack of support he receives from the American crowd. Maybe he just needs an advisor on American culture. The women do it (what, you thought Sharapova was a natural?), and if he wants to get anywhere near the endorsement money that the two men ranked above him get (assuming he continues to perform well), he really ought to look into that. I should add that I'm available, Novak, if you can see this.

Have a great weekend!


* This refers me to me running from my office, and Senator Obama running for his. And, yes, it should belong to him.

** Thanks, Tiger!

Run . . . Down

Let's jump right in:

1. Ow, Yao. Just when the Houston Rockets and the Western Conference were heating up comes the news that Yao Ming is done (I decided against a bad joke here) for the season with a stress fracture in his foot. Tough spot to keep playing on it. This is a bad blow to the Rockets but the league will also be smarting because Yao in the playoffs was going to mean billions of fans. Easy come, easy go. These guys are dropping like NFL players. What's going on?

2. LeBron scored his 10,000th point - youngest in history to get there - but couldn't help the Cavs get past the Boston Celtics. Sorry, Bronie. You can break a whole bunch of records when you are the only guy scoring points on the team. Before you ask, yes, I'm hating.

3. Rutgers University women's basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer won her 800th game, joining an elite party of three (including her) with Rutgers' win over DePaul. And effectively putting more distance between her squad and an unnamed radio talk show host. Bravo.

4. Congress has requested an inquiry into whether Roger Clemens should be brought up on perjury charges related to his statements about his steroid use, or rather the lack thereof. I don't know about you, but while this could be important to someone somewhere, I think there may be other issues they could be addressing. Like, hunger or crime. But that's just me.

5. The Seattle Supersonics apparently forgot that defense is a necessary part of basketball, falling to the Denver Nuggets by 42 points. I am thinking that the Sonics could have just not suited a team at all, let the Nuggets just shoot the entire game, and they still probably wouldn't have won by less points. The Nuggets had to travel to Seattle for that? I know A.I. and the boys had to be a little annoyed. I know Starbucks is downsizing these days but they may need to get their team a percolator or something because they are seriously flatlining.

Monday Runday

Running through what you might have missed this weekend:

1. I watched a piece on Inside the Lines on ESPN about three women who filed successful lawsuits against Fresno State University for various offenses related to demanding equal treatment for women's sports. Fresno State sounds like they have a serious problem on their hands. Most of the piece focused on the woman pictured above, Stacy Johnson-Klein, former coach of Fresno State's women's basketball team. I wonder why . . . yes, that's what she wore to coach the games.
2. This happened on Friday but it still counts. The Boston Celtics dropped their third straight game to the Phoenix Suns, a team that the Detroit Pistons annihilated on their home floor on Sunday afternoon. By annihilated, I mean lost by 30 points. Welcome to Phoenix, Shaq.
3. The #1 ranked University of Memphis Bulldogs men's basketball squad was the only undefeated team in Division I . . . until Saturday night, when they fell to the Tennessee Volunteers in a close one. Going undefeated is not all it's cracked up to be. Just ask the Patriots. Lose the battle, not the war.
4. Ben Wallace must have seen what I said about him being an offensive liability on the floor, so he went and tied his season high of 12 points in his debut with LeBron and the Cavs in their pummeling of the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies weren't too hot to begin with before they became Pau-less, so I need to see the Cavs play some steeper competition before I go saying this was a good trade. At least make the playoffs.
5. I know I don't talk about him too much on here, but when you win so much there's not much you can say. Tiger squeaked out a win in the earlier rounds but had no trouble racking up another win to get closer to his goal of world domination. That's all I wanted to say. I just didn't want Tiger to think I was neglecting him.

101 MPH? If I Feel Like It

I used cruise control when I drove out of town this past weekend, careful not to go too far over the speed limit because of the ticket-happy officers who pave the highways at all hours of the night.

LeBron James? Not so much. He just got a ticket for going 101 miles per hour in a 65 MPH zone. 36 over the limit, good for a reckless driving charge in some jurisdictions. LeBron's reaction? Big whoop:

When James was asked if he will continue traveling at such speed, he said: "I
don't know, maybe at times. It's not a big deal to me. You've just got to
abide by the rules that's all. I made a mistake and I'll live with it.

He's so . . . cavalier. King James is right.

RFTR* . . . What Number Are We On Now?

Quick rundown from the run-down of the weekend's events since I am trying to get up early tomorrow:

1. The Detroit Pistons laid a turd Saturday night against the Boston Celtics, allowing a bench player and rookie (nicknamed "Big Baby" - accurate, if I do say so myself) to have a career night, taking very bad, ill-advised shots at the end of the game, and my pet peeve - missing free throws! Oh well. It's just one game. At least the Big 3 were kept relatively quiet. And I was not far off in my score prediction, I just didn't think the Pistons would be the ones with 85 points. This will be a very interesting playoff series, for sure.

2. End of the line for the Washington Redskins. Too bad that they couldn't win the wild card game for their fallen teammate, Sean Taylor, but the Seattle Seahawks are just too good.

3. Kudos to the Jacksonville Jaguars for taking out the Pittsburgh Steelers in the other wild card game Saturday night, and coming back for the crazy win. I left the sports bar after the Steelers got behind 28-10 and I thought for sure that was all she wrote. Too bad Maurice Jones-Drew couldn't have big games like that during the regular season! I guess now is a good time, too . . .

4. Did I mention that I am not a fan of Kevin Garnett? Almost as much if not more than I am not a fan of LeBron James. I don't like stars who think they are entitled to calls and who whine if they don't get their way. Put them in the same category as players who seek to draw fouls rather than take shots when the game is on the line. And I believe KG does both. Yuck.

* Short for Rundown from the Run-Down

Rundown from the Run-Down

I've been a little under the weather, so here's a snippet of today's stories:

• The Cleveland Cavaliers handed the Boston Celtics their second loss of the season. The only two free throws that Ray Allen (88% FT shooter) missed came when the Celts were in a position to seal the game. LeBron James and Kevin Garnett exchanged some words near the end. You mean everyone doesn't love LeBron?

• Michael Vick is set to stand trial in April on state charges for dogfighting. A plea deal is expected to be reached, so no April circus. 12 more days until we find out how long he'll be in jail on the federal charges.
• Race car driver Helio Castroneves beat out Mel "Scary Spice" Brown for the Dancing with the Stars title. Floyd Mayweather was scheduled to dance during the finale but pulled out due to an anke injury. Right. He's just trying to get ready for that fight he joined the show to promote. December 8th. Pay-per-view. (Yes, the advertising did work.)

R.I.P. Sean Taylor.

The Mavs and the Cav-Nots

Bron Bron has a problem. Well, let me take a step back. LeBron is OK, but the Cleveland Cavaliers are not.

The Cavs opened their season Wednesday night at home against the Dallas Mavericks, probably wishing they could close it back up again, losing 92-74 to the Mavs.

Man, NBA fans are really getting the hang of this booing your home team thing. First the Laker fans last night, and now the Cavs fans - twice. Once at half time and again at the end of the game.

I think the booing was as much for the players as it was for the whole organization that failed to make any real power moves over the summer after being unceremoniously swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals last season. Their only acquisitions were guard Devin Brown, and forward Cedric Simmons from a trade with the New Orleans Hornets . . .

In addition, the Cavs are missing some "key" players from their "run" to the Finals -- Sideshow BobAnderson Varejao, Sasha Pavlovic, due to contract issues. Pavlovic will be back soon, now that he just signed a 3-year deal whose terms have not been disclosed. He revealed during the Cavs game earlier in the night (more on that later) that he was having some documentation issues and he missed two flights, but he should be back soon. I'm going to need him to get it together a little better than this.

Varejao is still overseas while he holds out for a better deal. Well, if their first game is any indication, the Cavs may want to give the man what he wants or look for someone else to help them out. I believe the Cavs WAY overachieved in making it to the Finals last season, but without some changes this year, they may just barely make the playoffs if at all.

Granted, the Cavs opened the season tonight against ehe Western Conference powerhouse Mavs, a team that many thought would make a run at a ring last year but ended up making history by losing to the 8th seeded Golden State in the first round (and with Nowitzki as their leader, I see this being the rule rather than the exception).

But the Mavs made the Cavs look like a D-III team. LeBron had 10 points on 2-11 shooting, and no points in the first half after he sat for a while with foul trouble. Said LeBron about his team, prior to tonight's game:

"We didn't do any reshaping," James said candidly. "We didn't do any regrouping. You start to think a little bit, 'How are we going to continue to get better?'"

"We're worse," James said. "We're not as good as we were if we have those guys. We all know that. Those two guys are a big part of our team. There's no reason to sit here and say we're better without them. Hopefully something happens."

Hopefully. Well, Bron Bron, you have to at least do your part, too. Kobe did his part, scored 45 points in the loss. No sense making it worse for the fans with your own terrible play, even if you are trying to make a point to the powers that be. At least Kobe's "fans" only booed him at the beginning of the game.