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.

UPDATE: Noose Nets the Axe

As an update on the Golfweek tangle, the editor who allowed the noose to be placed on the front cover has been "replaced." They also asked for forgiveness:

"We apologize for creating this graphic cover that received extreme negative reaction from consumers, subscribers and advertisers across the country," said William P. Kupper Jr., president of Turnstile Publishing Co., the parent company of Golfweek. "We were trying to convey the controversial issue with a strong and provocative graphic image. It is now obvious that the overall reaction to our cover deeply offended many people. For that, we are deeply apologetic."

The new editor says that the firing had to happen to that that they were "very sorry." A sacrificial slaying, it seems. I see that I was not the only one who thought this situation had Reverend Al's name written all over it, but apparently he wasn't needed this time. And as I surmised, the article was not the great piece on social issues.

I can't wait to see Kelly Tilghman's first day back on the job next week.

Not Your Best Work

I was going to do a Rundown from the Run-down but I decided one story needed its own post.

Now I am sure Golfweek magazine thought that putting a noose on its cover to highlight the Kelly Tilghman controversy was a good idea that might sell more issues and capitalize on her comments.

I am going to go out on a limb here and say that no one who is African-American took any part in the decision to place the above image on the cover. Tiger's the only prominent African-American (among other races) in the sport today, so I'm guessing there aren't too many working at Golfweek either. And they probably didn't see The Great Debaters either.

I really don't care what they thought they were trying to say because this image is in poor taste. The lighting gives the noose an ominous look, too, which I'm sure was intended but did not achieve the intended effect.

Some might liken it to putting a burning cross or a swastika on the cover, but the difference here is that the noose is not only used to kill, but to kill a particular race of people.

This from the New York Times:

Dave Seanor, the editor, said the intention was not to be “racially
provocative,” but to illustrate a noose tightening around Tilghman, the Golf
Channel and golf.

He said: “There weren’t a lot of other ideas for the cover;
either you put Kelly out there or this image, which is emblematic of what this
controversy is about.”

The magazine, with a circulation of 160,000, nearly
all of it by subscription, has received about 100 to 150 demands for
cancellations, but as far as was known, no advertisers have pulled out.

I will tackle this in pieces. First, well if that was the intention, then why isn't there a picture of a noose tightening around Tilghman's neck? Too much? Well so is the noose. Especially with recent noose placings around the country fueling racial episodes, most notably in Jena, Louisiana.

Second, if you are the editor of a publication, never in your life should you ever explain why you went with a poor choice by there were not many other ideas. Put a picture of Kelly, a picture of Tiger, or a picture of Kelly and Tiger. Anything but a noose.

And I haven't read the article but I am sure it is not some great expository on race in golf.

Magazines are struggling now as it is. While 100 people might not make a huge difference to a subscriber base of 160,000, I wonder how many people won't pick it up off the newstands, and if those 100 might turn into more as this story gains traction. My guess would be that none of that would make a dent in their bottom line now, but just wait until Reverend Al leads the boycott. Be afraid, Golfweek, be very afraid.

Two Weeks Suspension Ought To Cure It

Even the vote of confidence from Tiger Woods couldn't save Kelly Tilghman from being suspended from her job on the Golf Channel for two weeks.

As I discussed yesterday, golf announcer Tilghman stated during a broadcast that lynching Tiger "in a back alley" was the only way that young up and comers could take over his throne. Tiger's agent says Tiger didn't bat an eye, and that he and Tilghman are friends (and some of my friends have their own thoughts on why Tiger didn't mind . . . ).

But the Golf Channel cared. In truth, they had to do something. Don Imus can't get his show cancelled for using offensive language calling black women names, and then nothing happens to dear Kelly when she talks about killing America's sports darling in a racially offensive manner.

Perhaps it was Al Sharpton's call for her firing, and Tiger's treatment of it as a non-issue. The Golf Channel just split the difference.

The more that I think about it, I have to wonder if Tilghman's comment set the ladies back a big. Unfortunately, as is often the case with minorities, when one woman does something, we all tend to take the blame. It's hard enough for us to get on TV doing announcing in a men's field as it is. The fact that she couldn't come up with a witty response to Nick Faldo's comments on Tiger's "prowess" unfortunately reflects on all of us, providing the bigwigs just another reason to keep us in the reporting jobs and away from the color commentary.

Now Kelly has time to finish reading that best selling self-help book "How To Recover From An Unfunny, Racist Joke About Tiger Woods" by her own sportsmen, Fuzzy Zoeller, whose racial joke Tiger actually said he found amusing. Happy reading, Kel.

Did I Say That Out Loud?

Sometimes, people say things that they don't mean. Sometimes, they say things that are insensitive.

And sometimes, people just don't think before they speak and what comes out is, to put it bluntly, just plain dumb.

Golf Channel (yeah, I'm surprised anyone caught it either) announcer Kelly Tilghman, the first full-time female play-by-play golf announcer, and a former golfer at Duke University, was apparently trying to say that the young players will not be able to touch Tiger Woods unless they physically take him out of the game.

What she ended up saying was that the players should "lynch Tiger Woods in a back alley." Two days later, she apparently apologized.

Yeah, I can't even get mad at this one because it is too obviously ignorant to invoke any real deep-seated emotions. Following on the heels of Don Imus, this just goes to show how difficult it is for us to step into the shoes of people who are not like us. It's one thing to say something seemingly racist in private, but when it is said in public, I must assume that the speaker didn't think there was anything wrong with what he or she said.

And then you get heat for it, and you learn to think before you make jokes that might offend people. I wouldn't fire her, though. She's relatively new to the game (the broadcast game), and she made an insensitive joke about Tiger Woods, the most hallowed American athlete there is. That is punishment enough.

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!