Archive for February, 2009

Really, Rich is going to take Alex Rodriguez’s side on this steroid thing? I know, it doesn’t sound like me. I’m simply not a fan of the Yankees, you could call me an all-out hater of them, and A-Rod has been my number one target over the last few years.

All of that is true. I actually still dislike him, and think that taking steroids is despicable. They are slowly ruining competitive sports as we know them because we never know who is getting that “little extra” bit of help, and who is on the level.

But here’s the thing, that list of players that allegedly failed the test back in 2003 had 103 names on it. Of those 103 names we’ve heard one. Uno. A single name was released.

I’m sure we’ll be hearing some of the 102 other names at some point, but for now the only one that we know is Alex Rodriguez. He’s the two-time MVP, and arguably the biggest star in the game, so it makes sense that his is the name that Sports Illustrated would want to get out there. It makes for a fantastic story for the writer, one that I certainly would have loved to have broken. It’s a huge story, a career highlight.

Here’s the problem, there are 102 other names on that list. Major League Baseball was supposed to ensure that those names never saw the light of day. MLB was supposed to guard those names closely and make sure that they never got out. It was a promise that they would, and now A-Rod is the only one feeling the wrath of the general public.

He cheated. He admitted that he cheated. I dislike greatly what he did. But there are 102 other guys that were caught in that test back in 2003, and countless others that were on stuff that didn’t show up on the tests that were taken. How many players were on HGH? Who knows, and there’s no way to test for that (I’m not even sure that HGH should be illegal, but that’s a story for another day).

With 103 guys failing the test, that means that somewhere between three and four players per team failed. That means that there were almost certainly Red Sox players on the list, and Angels, and Mets and Royals (okay, maybe not Royals because the players don’t make enough money there to afford the roids).

So yup, I’m taking A-Rod’s side on this. He was never supposed to be exposed in this thing. The players union was guaranteed that the players failing the tests in that survey would not have their names exposed to the public.

A-Rod messed up, and he’s going to pay for it quite a bit. This is one of the rare times when the punishment is beyond the crime.

In The Enterprise newsroom we’ve got a few bonafide hoops junkies, with Dave Fonseca leading the way. I mean the guys is a subscriber to the NBA League Pass, so he’s got us beat. But, he loves the pro game first and foremost, and me, I’m a college junkie.

And this is a great year for me. Sure it’s nice that UNC and Duke are awesome, and it looks like another huge March Madness season. But my number one is my alma mater, and we’re actually good this year. Liberty University beat a team you might have heard of over the weekend, Winthrop — the Big South’s annual monster — and we’re now 17-8 overall and 8-5 in league play. All season long the Flames have been around the top 25 in the mid-major poll.

It’s been fun. The Flames start a ton of freshmen, led by Seth Curry, Dell’s son and Stephen’s little brother. They could easily be above 20 wins already if they weren’t so young (they’ve lost a couple of close ones in OT).

So I’m hoping that they’ll be playing in the Big Dance this year. Even if this isn’t the year, it could be next or the one after. This team looks like it has potential to be really good for a while.

One guy I know will be watching his alma mater this March is Chris Kazarian, who lives in the cubicle next door at the paper. Kaz’s Villanova Wildcats are ranked 17th in the country right now with a 19-4 record. They’ve got a chance to win the Big East and be a top three seed at best.

It’s good to be a Nova fan, which I’m sure also puts a smile on our former GM, Chris Megan’s, face. He’s also a Nova alum.

Not so happy though is Fonseca. He’s a UMass alum. The Minutemen are just 8-13 this year and hoping to get hot for an NIT bid, which probably aint happening.

But they’ve always got next year. And with college hoops, next year always brings promise with a new group of freshmen.

Let’s get this out of the way, it didn’t look to me like Ray Allen was fouled on the last play. He sold it pretty well, but I didn’t see any contact with Pau Gasol and unless Ray Ray was shoved from behind, without the cameras catching it, by Derek Fisher.

The Celtics didn’t play that well when it mattered most and that’s why they lost. Paul Pierce missed a huge shot from the free throw line late in regulation. Big Baby Davis kept taking jumpers that were both poor shots and from out of his range. He hit one big one, but 1-for-7 from the field aint cutting it.

And the refs didn’t do the Celtics any favors either. The foul that was called against KG that ended up being his sixth was an atrocious call. With KG in the lineup down the stretch there’s probably a different outcome, but whatever.

But at the end of the night, the Lakers — as much as I hate to admit it — came up big when they had to. Kobe hit some big shots from the perimeter late in the game and Gasol and Odom did a nice job inside. It pains me to write that because I cannot stand either one of those players, especially Gasol who may be the biggest whiner on the west coast. My goodness he complains about everything.

Maybe the Celtics should have won, they definitely could have won, but at the end of the night they didn’t really deserve to win. The Lakers made the big plays, and the Celtics didn’t.

I’m just hoping that they get four to seven more shots against that team in June.

The game isn’t for about another 30 hours, but I’m chomping at the bit for tomorrow night to get here.

Part of the greatness that is the Celtics-Lakers rivalry is that the two teams only meet twice per year. When both teams are good, like this year, it makes those two match-ups must-see games. Christmas Day was unfortunate, as the C’s lost on the road in a game that they just weren’t going to get any breaks in. Every team has days like that, and that was the one for the Celts.

Tomorrow night is a chance at payback. Hopefully the Celtics will be 100-percent, as they didn’t have Kevin Garnett last night and you could see the difference against the 76ers. Sure they won, thanks to a buzzer-beater by Jesus Shuttlesworth Allen from distance, but they looked out of synch. They turned the ball over way too much and won that game through will, as much as skill.

The 12-game win streak is on the line. Kobe is coming to town and you can be sure that he’ll be in full Mamba mode, especially with Andrew Bynum out again with another injury.

If you love sports you have to be in front of a TV for this one. In February there just aren’t that many games that matter and get the blood moving like this. The NFL is over (I can’t count the Pro Bowl), baseball doesn’t get going for another two months. All we have is regular season hoops (college too, I watched the end of the Ohio State-Purdue OT game last night and it was fantastic) and hockey. There aren’t lots of big games in February, so take the ones they give us and enjoy them.

Pitchers and catchers report to spring training in about 10 days and we now know that that means that Jason Varitek will be heading to Fort Myers along with the rest of the Sox’ arms and receivers. Tek signed late last week for $5 million for next year, with options for a second year, despite Scott Boras dragging his feet and lengthening the process.

Boras continues to lengthen the process for Manny Ramirez. Here we are on the cusp of spring training and one of the premier hitters in the history of the game still doesn’t have a home, and it isn’t like he’s washed up, or has Barry Bonds type of stuff hanging over his hear (enjoy your court time BB).

Ramirez reportedly turned down a one-year deal from the Dodgers for — are you ready for this — $25 million yesterday. Apparently he wants more job security for Manny. Security? Even in this economy I have a feeling that 25 mil will last Manny a while, especially since he’s probably got at least that much stashed away in the glove compartment of one of his cars (note to self, buy next car that Manny decides to get rid of. Good investment opportunity).

According to some Internet sources, which are hardly the most reliable, but let’s play along, that opens the door for — wait for it — the Washington Nationals to sign Manny Being Manny. Umm? I don’t even know the correct response to that.

I guess it makes sense for the Nats. They’d pick up a huge bat, and one that will certainly tear through the National League, but why would Manny want to be in Washington? The team never contends and all of that summer humidity can’t be good for the dreads, can it?

He’s interested in Washington because Boras says he’s interested in Washington. When it comes to that guy he’s always trying to drive up the price, but how much more can you drive it up when you’ve already reached the stratosphere? Does Boras know that the economy is the equivalent of Varitek’s second half batting average from last year? I don’t expect the interest in baseball to fall off any this year, but I would be surprised if ticket sales (outside of Boston and New York) to plummet this year. Who has money for overpriced bleacher seats any more? Cities like Detroit, with its failing auto industry, are not going to see the turnstiles spinning.

Not that I expect Scott Boras to think rationally when it comes to real life economics. We’ve said for years that Manny lives in his own little world, and so does his agent. If the economy can support those kind of contracts we should all consider moving there. I doubt it’s snowing there like it is here. Get me Southwest on the phone please.

Well, I missed my prediction by a few points. I had AZ, 27-21. Final, Pittsburgh, 27-23. At least I was in the ballpark. Heck if we throw out the 100-yard Harrison return at the end of the first half, which we should, seeing he was tackled short of the goal line and all, and also had a teammate get away with clipping behind him, I’d have been really close.

Whatever. When you sit down on Super Bowl Sunday to watch the big game, if your team is not involved all you can really hope for is to be entertained. If you weren’t entertained by that game, well you just shouldn’t be watching sports. No, really, leave your cool pass at the door and check back with us in 24 months.

The worst part of the Steelers winning the game was checking my facebook page and seeing my snide cousin-in-law Geoff, who is the most annoying Pittsburgh fan I know, had left a simple message on my wall. It read ” “. I mean, what do you say to that? He didn’t need to taunt or mock me with words, he chose a smiley face, and mission accomplished. I was frazzled. Score one for Overdork.

I’m not sure if I feel that the Steelers should have won the game. I mean they had the best team in the game, but just like I felt that the Pats gave one away last year, I feel the Cards did the same thing. One defensive stop is all each team needed, and they didn’t get the job done. The winning teams deserved to win because they marched down the field and scored. I know exactly how Cardinals diehards, all 14 of them, feel today. Us Patriots fans went through this last year. More than anything I was angry. I’d like to say that I got over it, but it’s kind of like having your heart ripped out by a girl when you’re a kid. Sure you get past it, but the scar is still there and serves as a reminder of how much it hurts to invest yourself in a game.

But let’s move on and hope that Mr. Bundschen is ready to go when August rolls around and that the Patriots can shore up the linebacking and secondary groups for another run at the title in 2010’s Super Bowl XLIV.

Some quick thoughts on the game:

** It definitely is a lot easier to watch the Super Bowl when your team is not involved. I was in a great mood all day long and still was even though the team I had wanted to win had lost because I had watched a great game. This is also a good reason to not gamble on football.

** Larry Fitzgerald is a force of nature. I am seriously considering taking him in the first round of next year’s fantasy draft. He’s entering his prime and you can tell he loves the game. In fact my next jersey might have to be a Fitzgerald 11.

** Umm, can we please review penalties? The roughing the passer call against Arizona in the second half was just laughable. Roethlisberger got pushed to the ground, and that’s 15-yards? Really?

** One cool thing about James Harrison’s 100-yard return is the life that thing will have. Whenever a big play happens in the Super Bowl from now on that 100-yarder will be brought up. They’ll be playing Super Bowl CMX and talking about that one. He is now immortal. So he’s got that going for him … which is nice.

** I watched “The Office” afterward and can’t think that the best comedy on TV drew in many new fans after that episode. It was just so generic and bland. There were a few laugh-out-loud moments, like when Dwight gutted the CPR doll (classic), but the show was for the most part just okay. The roast could have been much funnier, although Michael’s roasting of his co-workers the next day did have one good line, which I really can’t repeat here, but it had to do with Andy’s sexual preference.

** What’s crazy about the NFL is that I know that the same two teams will not be back next year. I have no idea which teams will be there because the teams change so much from year to year. If I had my choice though I’d take a New England-Dallas game for a variety of reasons. It’d be interesting to see how the people across the country felt about that game because both teams have country-wide followings, and more than their share of haters. It might be the most polarizing match-up in history.