Back In Action

Finally! Well, since I missed Monday and Tuesday, and most of you have had a chance to digest football from the weekend (and I'm holding on to my other football article until tomorrow) we're going to check in on some of the other leagues (yes, football is included):

Word on the street is that Stephon Marbury may have seen his last days as a New York Knickerbocker. What, waiving the best point guard in the league? Maybe it was the chess games in the car with interns. The word claims that there will be a buyout of Starbury's $21.9 million contract, which would put the Knicks well at the top of the list of the NBA's best/worst buyouts of all time. In case you're not familiar with how this works, buyouts occur when a team discovers that no other team will pay what they are paying for a particular player, making a trade not possible, but the team still wants to clear roster space to bring in someone other than the overpaid player. So the team literally pays the bought-out player not to play. (I know, I'm trying to figure out a way to make this happen at my job.) Who better than the Knicks to be involved when explaining buyouts?

But the word from new President (since Zeke departed the post) Donnie Walsh doused the flames on all that with some crazy talk. He says that the Knicks expect Marbury to come to camp . . . and they're expecting Allan Houston to come back, too. That was unexpected. So here's what I think happened: Houston's returned reminded them of the last time they paid someone $20 million not to play. Then the Knicks thought to themselves "Ya know, it's not worth another $20 million to be a good team in the best sports market in the country. It's not. If we keep adding players that other teams don't want and our draft picks get booed every year, we'll have a championship in no time." And then they struck the part about winning a championship and inserted just a question mark.

No fear, Knicks fans, you're likely to still have your same old (read: terrible) team to kick around, whether Marbury's there or not. If they let him go, who do they have to replace him? Sure, they've signed a guard - Anthony Roberson. . . 'nuf said. They can't really afford (not just monetarily) to buy out Marbury's contract and still pick up a solid, established player who would want to come into that situation. This last part is the key. The Knicks organization reminds me of another poorly run outfit in another city that has also become the laughing stock of the entire league. But the Knicks are even more special because they ensure that talented players don't shine there under any circumstances. Here's hoping Marbury is in the great shape they say he is and that former Phoenix Suns/new Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni can bring some of his winning ways - or at least mentality - out east . . .


I'm checking out these WNBA Finals. I'm currently watching the L.A. Sparks vs. the Seattle . . . wait, let me look that up . . . Storm. It's the elimination game, as they're calling it, with the winner going to the Western Conference Finals. The Storm actually has Sue Bird, although she didn't have a great first half. The Sparks, on the other hand, has Lisa Leslie and Candace Parker - the top two jersey sellers in the league - who, not coincidentally, are also the top scorers in this game. I'm no Nostradamus but I have a really, really good feeling that the Sparks are going to win this one. Let's just say I saw some highlights from the Detroit Shock game in which the only fans in the arena were seated in the lower third rows. I think they'll pick up more than just the diehard fan if/when the Sparks make it. I just saw a Storm player try to drive on Leslie and Parker . . . and come away with a blocked shot and some alone time with the hardwood. And mic'd up coaches - which mics occasionally catch a raucous fan seated nearby. And (female) commentators who aren't afraid to call like they see it. Fun to watch.

This brings me to another point. I just watched the Storm's coach talk to the ladies in the locker room. How come men can coach women's sports but women can't coach men's? When will we break through this, one of the last remaining glass ceilings? I may have to do a write up on this soon . . .

Quarterback Swap is on again. This week's victim is past MVP Pro Bowler Marc Bulger of the ailing St. Louis Rams. At least they're making some changes . . . . There's not much further down to fall than 0-3 after three weeks. . . but 0-4 after four weeks is a sure sign that the end is imminent. The man starting in Bulger's place is none other than Trent "walking endorsement for the anti-concussion helmet" Green. (I briefly considered posting a picture of him on a stretcher but I'm just not that cruel. Instead, I went with a picture of Bulger in a pose that may become more familiar to him over the next few weeks.) Last season, when Green was a Miami Dolphin, I suggested in my post that he ought to be nicer to the O-line if he wants to avoid having his block knocked off. Well, at least if he gets rocked (and I sincerely hope he does not - this article says it all), he will know that it's not because they don't want to protect him, they just . . . can't.

It looks like Bulger may have pine-riding company in Cleveland Browns QB Derek Anderson . . .


Turning to a place I don't turn too often: golf. (No, really. My brand new clubs are still sitting here untouched). The U.S. team actually won the Ryder Cup (that U.S. vs. Europe golf competition) for the first time in nine years, without the help of Tiger Woods. I don't think this is such a fluke or coincidental at all, and though the Brits apparently are blaming Nick Faldo for their loss, I think there is a far less complex explanation: no Tiger. It's hard to focus on your game when you're more concerned with matching up with your teammate than you are with beating the other team. Unfortunately, the "Tiger-effect" falls to other players too, effectively rendering anyone who doesn't win a major or compete with Tiger on the final day of an event virtually anonymous. This was confirmed when I failed to recognize most of the younger guys on the U.S. roster. But maybe this is just what they needed to get themselves on the map. Until Tiger returns, anyway.



Rutgers University QB Mike Teel threw an interception and then a punch at his teammate, Glen Lee, just during a game Rutgers eventually lost to Navy last Saturday. Rutgers' coach Greg Schiano has decided not to punish the QB, saying the situation "was over and done with." Does it help that this teammate was a reserve defensive back who was trying to tell Teel to keep his head up? Look, I know he was frustrated, but if the situation had been reversed, I wouldn't be surprised if Lee had been kicked off the team. Lee supported the move not to punish Teel, calling it a "family" matter (over and over again). In all the key players' own words:



I should have counted how many times they all used the word "family" in this video. It has to be on par with Allen Iverson's love for "practice." One of them blamed it on being "competitive." I'm competitive, but I've never attempted to punch a teammate in the mouth, and neither do most people (even though we all may have wanted to more than a few times). Lee sounds like a battered spouse. I don't know what happened behind closed doors, or why Lee appears literally to be taking the punch, but I get the sneaking suspicion that it's directly proportional to his perceived importance to the team. Yuck. I know Schiano doesn't want to go 0-4 and miss that bowl game they're used to attending, but your QB's out of control, buddy. This one gets a thumbs way down.



But I'd like to end this post on a thumbs up, which goes out to Ball State University football wide received Dante Love. Love had been having a stellar season thus far, picking up where he left off as an All-Mid-American first team standout. On Saturday, Love was injured during Ball State's win over Indiana University when he collided with an Indiana cornerback. I've read that his head dipped at the last moment, which is almost always followed by injury. Unfortunately, they're saying that Love's injury will end his career, but that he will be able to live a normal life - meaning he likely won't be paralyzed (and if he's able to move now, then that's probably the case). The one consolation I can offer Love is that "they" have been wrong many times before. While I certainly wouldn't encourage him to come back before he is ready, it doesn't necessarily have to be over just because they say it is. I really hate to see anyone's hopes and dreams dashed in an instant - especially at his age and in his situation. But even if he never plays again, I believe things happen sometimes to teach you a lesson that you wouldn't have learned otherwise or to push you in a direction that you may not have otherwise considered. Hopefully, in time, it will all make sense to him. Two thumbs WAY up for a speedy recovery.

MYSM: NBA Beatings

I will be out of the country for the next two weeks, but may have Internet access to post if I'm in the mood and not climbing a mountain or something.

Yes, that means I will miss most of the tournament but I'll be doing more exciting things - if that's possible.

I don't condone fighting, but some of these are funny. Who knew Shawn Bradley was on the First Team All-NBA A**-whooping? Some of them have clearly never been in a fight off the court.

Happy Monday!

P.S. To the Seattle Supersonics: If you're going to come out of the box not defending shots, you should skip the plane ride and just stay home. The Denver Nuggets couldn't have scored more points if they had been alone the entire game. Yikes.

5, 4, 3, 2 . . .

The deal:

1. ESPN.com did a great piece on a fallen firefighter/assistant coach who died in a fire but whose lasting effect on his team propelled them to the state finals. Great job, ESPN. And good luck, Summerville!

2. If you hear some old guy cursing during the NCAA telecasts, it might just be Bob Knight. Yes, that Bob Knight of chair-throwing fame. Said Knight, "I think ESPN has been real good for college basketball and I look forward to working with some of their people who I have known a long time." Real good, Bobby, real good. I hope they're still using that five second delay.

3. Congress wants to talk about passing federal legislation banning the use of performance-enhancing drugs in all professional sports leagues. Naturally, the commissioners of the various leagues do not want the practices of their league members being legislated by the feds. I can't imagine why adding one more way for their players get arrested would not be appealing.

4. Title this under "Riiiight." Earlier, the Green Bay Packers official website ran an article stating that Brett Favre had indeed decided to retire. The Packers party line:

"There's nothing to it," Packers spokesman Jeff Blumb told The Associated Press.
"People who handle our Web site had set up a dummy page in the event he was to
retire. They were asked to take down that page."

Yeah, ok. Favre's decision is expected to come soon. Let's see if it differs at all from what was posted. You know where my money is.

5. This article is upsetting, if for no other reason than it contains information about 2 players that I find it tough to root for (see, I'm getting nicer ). According to Mary Sims, the MVP comes down to, among others, Kobe, LeBron, or . . . Kevin Garnett? Sims had him as leading the race back in December, and now still has him on the list at #3. I guess he felt like he could drop him down a notch but removing him from the top five would hurt his credibility. Too late. I'm not sure KG's the MVP of his own team much less of the entire league. Sims must have gotten dunked on by him in high school and he's just trying to make himself feel better.

Super Tuesday

It's late so I will cut to the chase:

1. The man hasn't even made it out of college and already Darren McFadden not only has one paternity suit pending against him, but also has two more bundles of joy on the way. Oh boy. How can you be the Shawn Kemp of the NFL before you even get picked by a team? Oh boy.
   
2. The Charlotte Bobcats' Gerald Wallace was knocked unconscious by a stray elbow during a game last week. My dad always warned me about concussions. I should probably leave this to the neurologists(!) but I think once you get one, you are more susceptible to continuing to get them. And Wallace has had four concussions in as many seasons with the Bobcats. Sounds more like a football or boxing injury. That's not a good sign. He may really have to pick a different profession if he wants to avoid permanent debilitation.
   
3. Details of the severance agreement with former Indiana University Hoosiers men's basketball coach Kelvin Sampson have emerged. Apparently, Sampson has to cooperate with any NCAA investigation and he cannot interfere with the basketball team. How do we know all this? The press has this little pass they call FOIA requests that allows them to obtain info on just about every public contract there is. Powerful little tool, I tell you.
4. Are the Boston Celtics going to be making some roster additions? What, Danny Ainge realized it takes more than three players to win a championship? Having played for a very deep Celtics team back in the '80's, one would think he would have realized this early on.
5. I attended yet another basketball game this evening. This time for my cousin's team. Tough game but they pulled it out when it counted. The other team's fans decided to pick on a shorter player on his team, chanting "Gary Coleman!" I thought this was a fairly mean thing to say (and which may have contributed to their ultimately losing the game), but I did find it quite intriguing that these kids were too young to know him as "Arnold." I'm definitely getting old.
   

Some Things Can't Be Taught

As I mentioned, I attended my mentee's basketball game on Friday. I got there fairly late (those of you who know me - I actually tried to show up on time, but she didn't tell me it started a half hour earlier than the last game, which is a lot with 8 minute quarters) so I missed the first half and a few seconds of the 3rd quarter. When I saw the score, I assumed, or hoped, that her team was the one up by 30 points. Alas, it was not to be.

After watching the remainder of the 3rd quarter, I couldn't figure out how in the world they got down by so many points. Then I saw the other team get about 4 offensive rebounds in a row and put the ball back and I had a sense. My mentee's team had a few runs late in the game, but they could never really get close enough or get enough rebounds to make a dent in the lead.

The reason I've even decided to blog on this is because of the performance by my mentee. Now I know I may be biased, but the numbers don't lie. She was driving and shooting three's as if they were only down by 5 points, and she played that way all the way until the final buzzer.

That is why I love sports. You can teach someone the fundamentals, how to shoot, rebound, and box out, but you cannot teach heart. And heart is what will take her to the next level. She was fairly down, as one would expect, after the game, but she did crack a smile when I told her how impressed I was with her tenacity. Since she is only a sophomore, she has plenty of time to recover.

And believe me, there will be plenty of colleges waiting for her even if her team doesn't. I'm proud of you, kid!

These Girls Got Game

I had the pleasure of attending my mentee's high school basketball game last night, and I must say that I was impressed. These girls weren't very tall, and this was a Class D game, but they greatly exceeded my expectations. My mentee's team (who won the game) had about 60 points at the end of the third quarter. 14 points in the first quarter, 23 points in the second, and at least another 23 in the third. These are 8 minute quarters. One girl had to have about 30 points just from draining 3's. I must say when I first got there, I was not expecting too much based on the physical maturity of the girls and what I believed to be their skill-set, but they blew all that out of the water after I watched my mentee take another girl off the dribble and slash to the hole about two minutes after I sat down. And the three point shots were raining from all over the court.

I have to say one of my favorite parts of the game was near the end, when the team was up by 30+ points, and the coach cleared the bench. One girl who is an obvious team favorite and probably doesn't get to play or shoot much. Well, this night, the ball landed in her arms and she instinctively threw it back up - and into the basket. Her entire team - on the bench and on the floor - was jumping up and screaming. That's why we love sports.

It was encouraging to see this level of basketball coming from an every day program, not some high school powerhouse. They have their district finals on Friday night and I will certainly be in attendance.

I will add that I was a little disheartened that the losing team, in contrast to the team that won, had not one friend or family member in attendance, and can't help but wonder if that contributed to their play during the evening. I can't imagine having played sports without my parents there, but I know everyone does not have that support. But they can . . . mentor a kid, folks. It really makes a world of difference even if you don't think that it will.

Congrats to the Lady Vikings!

2 Quickies.

Two other items that I am waiting for more details to develop before I comment:

1) The father of a California high school (female) basketball standout was gunned down during half time of her game. The father was apparently very involved with the team and his daughter's development as a basketball game. The game was called before it ended after officials learned what had occurred. The man's daughter had been pulled from the game prior to that. No word on a motive. Very sad.

2) Orenthal James Simpson may be heading back to jail for violating the terms of his bail by contacting one of his co-defendants in the case to discuss testimony. If this is true, he should be tethered to his lawyer at all times.

Don't Believe The Hype

I know it's Wednesday, but I thought at least some of you would appreciate seeing what happens when you believe you can fly . . . and you can't.

I always thought it was dangerous to let someone jump over my head. Now I have proof.

R.I.P. Eddie Griffin

I have to catch up on my rest tonight, so this is going to be a short one. Think of it as a reward for getting through yesterday's post.

I was extremely saddened when I heard the news that former NBA player Eddie Griffin died in a car collision with a train last week. He last played with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Apparently his body was so badly burned (and he was driving without a license) that it took the coroner until today to identify him through his dental records. He was only 25.

For those of you who have never heard of Eddie Griffin, check out his Wikipedia page which gives all of the sordid details of his life and basketball career. Despite getting kicked out of high school and later kicked off the Seton Hall basketball team, he went 7th in the 2001 NBA draft to the New Jersey Nets, who immediately traded their draft rights to him to the Houston Rockets. He played a few solid seasons at Houston, but after some problems, they released him. He was then picked up by the Nets, but sat out the following season while he was in alcohol rehab. He then spent several seasons with the Timberwolves until he was released earlier this year.



Unfortunately, he received more attention for his off-court issues than he ever did for his basketball game. He had potential, and probably would have gone higher in the draft had his off-court life not interfered. It seems that he never really found his way in this world despite his apparent "success." If you read my post below, then you can probably guess how I feel about this situation. However, it appears that people really did try to help him, but in the end, it was not enough. It's just a tragedy that it had to end so soon and so suddenly.

I just hope that you are finally resting in peace, Eddie.

Race Car Driving is Not a Sport . . . yeah, I said it

So for my first official post, I thought I would give you a list of activities that I consider to be a sport. For a definition, I turned to the trusty Answer.com, which offered this among the many definitions:

"An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively."

Note the phrase "physical exertion." I know that some of you may disagree and that is fine. You may even go on Answers.com and see that the first definition says only "physical activity." Nevertheless, the following is my not-so-exhaustive list, in no particular order, of some activities that I consider to be sports:

Sports

1. Basketball
2. Jai alai
3. Baseball
4. Football
5. Tennis
6. Boxing
7. Soccer
8. Hockey (Yep, few cared when it was gone a year but it's still a sport)
9. Track & field
10. Golf* - ONLY thanks to Tiger Woo

* But as long as people like this are playing, too, it's always going to be fringe in my eyes.


Whether or not the above sports will appear on Pleats 'n Cleats (i.e., does anyone care who's the next Carl Lewis?) is another question, but suffice it to say they made the list. What did not make the list? These are activities that involve skill, but just because you get a winner and a loser doesn't make it a sport. They are:

NOT Sports

1. Race car driving (If something really eventful happens, I MAY mention it)
2. Bowling
3. Poker
4. Fishing
5. Iditarod (maybe for the dogs, not the people chillin' on those sleighs)
6. Hunting or shooting at anything, especially clay pigeons
7. Billiards
8. Bocce ball
9. Spelling bees
10. Eating competitions

I believe what all these non-sports have in common is that sweating - and therefore, physical exertion - is due to lighting, outside temperature and/or pressure/nervousness, and not in any way related to the activity itself. Let me know if you have any others to add to this list.

Someone has already taken me to task for race car driving, saying that NASCAR and that other league are popular. I said, "Well, so is the circus." Also not a sport.

Remember: Just because you see it on ESPN doesn't mean it's a sport!