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Week of All-Stars Now that Wimbledon is over and Roger Federer and Serena Williams have returned as the champions of grass.....it's time for Major League Baseball to take center stage with their All-Star extravaganza. But before I get to baseball, it's good to be home. Last week I took a few days off to join up with my family down on the South Carolina coast. Anybody that has followed along with me on the air knows how much I enjoy the beach...specifically the Atlantic Ocean. I hate it. It takes forever to get there...there are more speed traps in South Carolina than there are boiled peanut stands. There's nothing more intoxicating than the idea of sitting in the sand....in 100 degree weather....pretending that it is relaxing and enjoyable. I'd rather pull out a tooth. By the way, I happened to crack a tooth on this trip, nibbling on a hard pretzel.....now I've got a jagged split tooth cutting underneath my tongue. The only thing I hate more than the beach is a trip to the dentist. I'll be doing that later this week.....and I still have no idea how I'm going to host a talk show in this condition, but I'll have to figure that one out before I can get my reservation in the "death chair". How many milk shakes, jello shots and spaghetti meals can a man handle in one week of pain? As you can tell, I was thrilled to get back to Charlotte. But as I was saying...this week, it's about the All-Stars. I still can't get over the fact that the winner of this "exhibition", which includes players from dog teams like the Cubs, Mariners, Rockies and Padres, will gain homefield advantage for the game's most important event....the World Series. It's another one of those great ideas compliments of Bud Selig. The only thing I can think of that is more painful than a trip to the beach or the dentist would be listening to Chris Berman during the HR Derby. I guess terrible things do come in 3's. Oh, well.....I'm hoping the dentist can knock me out long enough that I miss the entire "back, back, back" episode on ESPN. I mentioned Wimbledon finished up over the weekend....and now London can prepare for the upcoming Olympic Games. I've been to London on a couple of occasions, and I loved it. The food isn't great....and neither is the eye-candy....but the place has a cool vibe and there's plenty of stuff to see and do. I would imagine it will be a zoo for the Olympics. I've had the chance to go to a number of Olympic Games....LA, Atlanta and Barcelona......and it is a great experience. The US Olympic teams have been finalized and that includes the men's basketball squad, which of course is loaded with the NBA and coached by Duke's Mike Krzyzewski. I'm not going to confuse this team with the original "Dream Team" from '92.....but does anybody think these guys will even be pushed by anybody? I don't. Maybe there will be one game that is relatively close....but roll the ball out and go kick ass. The Charlotte Bobcats are talking about signing Antawn Jamison. This is the master plan by Jordan, Cho and Higgins? And you wonder why the rest of the country either ignores the franchise completely or makes fun of Michael Jordan as an executive. For the record, Jamison is a wonderful person....and has been able to exist for 14 years in the NBA.....but if you think his potential hire in Charlotte is what this team needs.....then you better get used to being a long-term fan of the lottery. Looks like the 'Face of NASCAR" is still having a tough time grasping the concept that wrecking is a bad thing. Danica Patrick wrecked again over the weekend....this time in Daytona. For the record, "Face" has now finished 30th or worse in 5 of the 16 Nationwide races this year. She has 1 Top 10 finish in the sport's B-grade circuit. She continues to put pressure on Dale, Jr....he has to pay for all these banged up race cars. I had to do some catch-up on the race and other sports news, since I was disconnected on the SC coast.....but it looked like Tony Stewart took care of business late in the race in Daytona and picked up another win. The defending champ has been up and down, but the guy knows how to close.....and his third win of the season should give him a prime opportunity to defend his title. We're closing in on 50 days away from the start of the college football season....and it can't get here fast enough. I'm looking forward to making some trips to the power leagues' "Media Days" in the next few weeks. I've got July trips planned for Birmingham, Dallas, Greensboro and Chicago.....I'm looking forward to talking with the coaches and players that will deliver the goods this football season. You'll be able to hear all the interviews on our SiriusXM Show. I also enjoy absorbing the info in the college football preview magazines. For fun, I like to keep last year's mags nearby and look at them to see how well, or poorly, they did in judging teams, players and coaches. Like us talking heads...sometimes we're right...sometimes we're wrong. But it sure makes the time go by when you are bored to tears at the beach. Based on most of the pre-season mags....the national title picture looks like Southern California vs. the winner of the SEC. If you could guarantee me a USC-Bama/LSU national title game, I'd probably sign up today....that just sounds like a championship game. But who knows what team(s) will surprise and upstage the favorites......it is the beauty of college football. |
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