 |
|||||||||||
Busted The last few days have given us some serious sports fodder. NASCAR and Major League Baseball had to deal with another round of stupidity, thanks to the respective efforts of Jeremy Mayfield and Manny Ramirez. Let's first start with Mayfield. His failed drug-test makes him the answer to the next NASCAR Trivial Pursuit question:
Congrats, to Jeremy Mayfield; be sure to pick up your parting gifts at the exit door. Mayfield claims his failed test was due to a combination of a prescribed medication and Claritin D. I'll take his word on this one, but it is safe to assume that Claritin won't be a sponsor anytime soon. Because of Dr. Mayfield's concoction, he has been suspended indefinitely by NASCAR. Of course, nobody really knows if the NASCAR rulebook really exists, much less how the penalty will be implemented. So we're liable to see Mayfield at Lowe's Motor Speedway in the next few weeks, or he's liable to be banned for a while. While NASCAR has their issues, Major League Baseball continues to lead the way with steroid-issue behavior and incompetence. If it's not Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire or some other high-profile player, you can count on Bud Selig's "get tough" policy to really clean up the game. This time, it's one of baseball's best pure hitters, Manny Ramirez.....of the scumbag LA Dodgers.
Ramirez has always been aloof and of the off-beat variety. This time, he's just another pill-popping cheater. I give him credit on his choice of medication.....women's fertility pills. (Enter your punch line here.) Due to Ramirez' positive test, the low-life Dodger will receive a 50-game suspension from Major League Baseball. He will also lose around 7 million bucks in salary...but somehow, I don't think he really cares about the cash....he is a different breed of player. The hated Dodgers have lost 3 of their first 4 games without the pill-popping Manny in the line-up, and that includes losing a home series to the mighty and great San Francisco Giants. Do you notice a trend here? I figured you would. The latest embarrassing drug failure needs to fall on the watch of Bud Selig, who continues to look inept while still maintaining his 17-million dollar salary as the leader of Major League Baseball. It's a good thing that Selig is cleaning up baseball...where would the sport be, without his amazing leadership? How about the trouble CBS announcer David Feherty finds himself in this week? Last week, the sly golf commentator received kudos for calling Tiger Woods a "loser" after his Top 5 finish at Quail Hollow. Of course, Feherty lost his train of thought in a one-question interview and blurted out "loser" to Woods, and the rest was considered comic relief. This week, Feherty wrote the following in a Dallas magazine: "If you gave any US soldier a gun with two bullets in it, and he found Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Osama bin Laden, there's a good chance that Nancy Pelosi would be shot twice, and Harry Reid and bin Laden would be strangled to death." I wonder if the clever CBS announcer lost his train of thought again? It is apparent that he is using an old joke, so he doesn't get much credit for originality for trying to drum up a laugh. What he did do is get the PC crowd at CBS upset, and we all know what that means. This will be another week of "Don Imus discussions" at the CBS headquarters in New York. Take it from somebody who says stupid stuff all the time: you never know which side of the bed these suits will wake up on, and therefore it is impossible to determine if Feherty will be fired for his inappropriate comments, or if it will be a slap on the wrist. Speaking of the CBS suits, I guess the news is not all rosy in Manhattan, where the company posted a loss of over 55 million bucks in the first quarter. Yeah, I know that sounds like a ton of cash, and it is, but it could be worse. CBS could be Sirius/XM. The satellite radio giant must really be feeling good. After fighting off bankruptcy a few months ago by finding some sucker to give them a financial handout, the satellite radio company posted a first quarter loss of 236 million bucks, which included a loss of over 400,000 subscribers. Maybe Howard Stern or Oprah can take a salary cut? The Carolina Hurricanes and the Boston Bruins put on quite a show, when we visited Raleigh last week. I have loved both visits to the RBC Center to check out some playoff hockey. Heading into the games tonight, all four series are 3-2.....currently Carolina, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Detroit lead their respective series with the chance to close out in Game 6. I hope the Canes can knock off the top-seeded Bruins, because I'd like to get back to the RBC at least one more time this season. In the NBA Playoffs, thank goodness for the Boston Celtics. It's not that I'm a Celtics fan, because I'm not. But there is no doubt that without the Boston games this post-season, the playoffs have been lukewarm. Think about it. The Boston-Chicago opening round series was one of the best of all-time. It was a great 7-game exhibition of playoff basketball. Right now, the Celtics and Orlando Magic are tied-up with two wins, as the series heads back to Beantown. At least this match-up has produced some drama, with two games determined by 5 points or less. When you consider the number of double-digit blowouts so far in the NBA Playoffs, it is well-overdue. Heading into this week, we have had only 4 of the 14 games in the 2nd round of the playoffs determined by single digits.
I love the NBA Playoffs, but I keep waiting for an incredible collection of games. With the exception of Boston's efforts, the playoffs have been underwhelming. |
Packman
on Sports Commentary
|
||||||||||
