So many sports stories to rant on, so little time...
1. Despite my opinion representing the absolute height of hypocrisy – I’m a Knicks fan who came of age in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, after all – I have to say that I find this San Antonio Spurs team to be loathsome and unworthy of any respect. Through four games, we’ve seen Bruce Bowen, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Robert Horry mug the more talented, more athletic, and more graceful Phoenix Suns.
Although I can’t stand teams that whine about hard fouls and physical play, I do think the Suns have a point here. The officiating in the Spurs-Suns matchup has been beyond ridiculous. How can knees to the groin, kicks to the legs, and forearm shivers to the face not be deemed excessive and warranting suspensions? How can Bruce Bowen continue to survive in the NBA with no discernable talent besides a knack for injuring people? He’s not so much a great defender (other than by reputation alone) as he is a bona-fide goon on par with guys like Tie Domi of the NHL.
I was rooting for the Suns anyway but now I’m rooting for the Suns and a couple of career-ending injuries for Bowen, Horry, and Ginobili. Screw the Spurs, they’re ruining what was supposed to be a fun Western Conference playoffs.
2. It’s Tuesday so I’ll rant against the disgusting bias and tabloid sensibility of ESPN the Magazine (like I ever need an excuse to hate on ESPN?!). In this current issue, Buster Olney writes a piece called “The End Is Near: As Their Dynasty Crumbles And A New Stadium Rises Across the Street, The Yankees Need A-Rod More Than Ever – Even Though He Has One Foot Out The Door.” Now let me begin by saying that I like Buster Olney. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting him and talking baseball with him on a one-on-one basis. But here’s what bugs me about this story: Buster Olney has already written a New York Times bestseller called “The Last Night of the Yankees Dynasty” which was published in 2004. Buster, you’ve already told me the Yankee dynasty ended in 2001 so please explain how their dynasty continues to crumble? How can the end be near when the end came over five years ago?
To me, this is an example of an editor telling a writer what to write. I sincerely doubt that Olney, a guy who got noticed by ESPN because of the success of his book, would choose to undercut his own thesis by choice. It seems to me like someone looked at the magazine, noticed it was a few pages light, and figured that they could recycle their usual anti-Yankee garbage and no one would notice. After all, the story itself contains exactly one quote from a current member of the ballclub – third base coach Larry Bowa. Can’t give too much credence to a story that doesn’t interview anyone on the team and attributes only one quote to a coach...sorry, folks, that’s hack journalism right there.
3. And staying on ESPN for a second, has anyone noticed that Albert Pujols is having a lackluster first six weeks of the season? I’m curious why ESPN hasn’t spent a few hundred hours dissecting Pujols’s psyche, motivation, or swing mechanics. By this time last year, when it seemed like A-Rod was just a wee bit off his game, there was no shortage of ESPN specials on why A-Rod had to be traded and how he wasn’t fitting into the clubhouse in New York. Of course, that was following up his 2005 MVP when all the stories were about how he had finally gotten acclimated to the supposedly tough New York marketplace.
So, I ask again, where is ESPN when Pujols sleepwalks through his team’s first 36 games? Why no scrutiny or third degree? Where’s the hatred and venomous attacks on one of the best players in the game (who happens to be hitting .239 with six homers in 134 AB)? ESPN’s inconsistent treatment of players is nauseating. Although for the first time ever we might have found an example of Midwesterners not bitching about East Coast bias. To ESPN’s baseball “analysts”, if you’re out there, if you’re alive and kicking, you might want to spend 30 seconds trying to solve the riddle of what happened to Albert Pujols this off-season.
1. Despite my opinion representing the absolute height of hypocrisy – I’m a Knicks fan who came of age in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, after all – I have to say that I find this San Antonio Spurs team to be loathsome and unworthy of any respect. Through four games, we’ve seen Bruce Bowen, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Robert Horry mug the more talented, more athletic, and more graceful Phoenix Suns.
Although I can’t stand teams that whine about hard fouls and physical play, I do think the Suns have a point here. The officiating in the Spurs-Suns matchup has been beyond ridiculous. How can knees to the groin, kicks to the legs, and forearm shivers to the face not be deemed excessive and warranting suspensions? How can Bruce Bowen continue to survive in the NBA with no discernable talent besides a knack for injuring people? He’s not so much a great defender (other than by reputation alone) as he is a bona-fide goon on par with guys like Tie Domi of the NHL.
I was rooting for the Suns anyway but now I’m rooting for the Suns and a couple of career-ending injuries for Bowen, Horry, and Ginobili. Screw the Spurs, they’re ruining what was supposed to be a fun Western Conference playoffs.
2. It’s Tuesday so I’ll rant against the disgusting bias and tabloid sensibility of ESPN the Magazine (like I ever need an excuse to hate on ESPN?!). In this current issue, Buster Olney writes a piece called “The End Is Near: As Their Dynasty Crumbles And A New Stadium Rises Across the Street, The Yankees Need A-Rod More Than Ever – Even Though He Has One Foot Out The Door.” Now let me begin by saying that I like Buster Olney. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting him and talking baseball with him on a one-on-one basis. But here’s what bugs me about this story: Buster Olney has already written a New York Times bestseller called “The Last Night of the Yankees Dynasty” which was published in 2004. Buster, you’ve already told me the Yankee dynasty ended in 2001 so please explain how their dynasty continues to crumble? How can the end be near when the end came over five years ago?
To me, this is an example of an editor telling a writer what to write. I sincerely doubt that Olney, a guy who got noticed by ESPN because of the success of his book, would choose to undercut his own thesis by choice. It seems to me like someone looked at the magazine, noticed it was a few pages light, and figured that they could recycle their usual anti-Yankee garbage and no one would notice. After all, the story itself contains exactly one quote from a current member of the ballclub – third base coach Larry Bowa. Can’t give too much credence to a story that doesn’t interview anyone on the team and attributes only one quote to a coach...sorry, folks, that’s hack journalism right there.
3. And staying on ESPN for a second, has anyone noticed that Albert Pujols is having a lackluster first six weeks of the season? I’m curious why ESPN hasn’t spent a few hundred hours dissecting Pujols’s psyche, motivation, or swing mechanics. By this time last year, when it seemed like A-Rod was just a wee bit off his game, there was no shortage of ESPN specials on why A-Rod had to be traded and how he wasn’t fitting into the clubhouse in New York. Of course, that was following up his 2005 MVP when all the stories were about how he had finally gotten acclimated to the supposedly tough New York marketplace.
So, I ask again, where is ESPN when Pujols sleepwalks through his team’s first 36 games? Why no scrutiny or third degree? Where’s the hatred and venomous attacks on one of the best players in the game (who happens to be hitting .239 with six homers in 134 AB)? ESPN’s inconsistent treatment of players is nauseating. Although for the first time ever we might have found an example of Midwesterners not bitching about East Coast bias. To ESPN’s baseball “analysts”, if you’re out there, if you’re alive and kicking, you might want to spend 30 seconds trying to solve the riddle of what happened to Albert Pujols this off-season.
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