Two odd realizations ...
I've got this very nice plasma television in my hotel room here in San Francisco, so even though it's morning and there's nothing ever good on television in the morning, I flipped it on to see what's happening in the world.
I turned to ESPN (after noticing that ESPN Classic had outdoor bowling on AGAIN) and heard the woman say, "OK, let's go to our ESPN studios for a SportsCenter update," or something like that.
So they went to someone else who said that the big story was that NBA commissioner David Stern had held a one-hour press conference to discuss his dismay and horror with the latest news, that an NBA referee was allegedly betting on NBA games and also had some sort of tie with organized crime. They then went to footage of David Stern, and indeed he looked dismayed and horrified. He called it the worst situation he had ever experienced as either an NBA fan or as commissioner of the league, and said this ref, Tim Donaghy, was a rogue, isolated criminal, which they might have noticed earlier because he was, after all, the only referee in the NBA to call traveling violations.
After a few more moments of sad David Stern the camera flipped back to the SportsCenter anchor who gave us the other big story of the day -- that the Atlanta Falcons would have a press conference to discuss Michael Vick and his dog-fighting indictment. There was then some footage of Vick running around on the football field. You might recall that Vick has been indicted on charges that include gambling (there's pretty big money on dog-fighting) but also violence against dogs that did not perform well which include: drowning, electrocution, hanging and shooting. Good man, that Vick. Jon Stewart the other day said what I've been saying all along: I don't think Vick (assuming he's found guilty) should be suspended from the NFL or jailed. I think he should be put in the cage with a couple of pit bulls so we can see his much-admired elusiveness.
And then the SportsCenter update ended. That was it. That was the day in sports -- a referee gambling and a quarterback who allegedly led a dog-fighting ring.
My two realizations:
1. We have to take sports back. We just have to. It's getting to the point where getting updated on sports news is more depressing than getting updated on how Al Qaida is rebuilding its base in Pakistan.
2. The Barry Bonds chase I'm on is the most inspiring national sports story happening today. Who would have thought that?
9 comments:
Jon Lester is a pretty darn good story.
I think the Royals are a pretty good local story, too.
Joe,
You couldn't have hit the nail on the head any more square had you tried to. I'm not about to judge Vick without evidence, but his prior transgressions do tend to lead to the assumption of guilt and as for the NBA...well, give me Bill and the Jayhawks anyday.
Our priorities in the world have become skewed...so it's only natural that it's going to overflow into our priorities in sports as well.
Thanks and keep writing & blogging! My day doesn't begin until I've checked the Star online as well as this spot.
ps. Just finished my third read of the book! I can't wait for the next one...
Brad - Grand Rapids, MI
Both of those stories are more uplifting than the Scott Elarton start tonight against the Yankees. Can you please ask Dayton Moore and Buddy Bell what the thinking was on that one?
This was a terrific post as usual, and you're exactly right....but Drew nailed it. I emailed a Red Sox fan on Monday night, "I apologize for what the Royals did to you last week, I apologize for their effort against the Yankees tonight, and I apologize even more for what they will do tomorrow night". There was a 0.00% chance that my prediction would be wrong. Honestly, calling up Elarton was even more hopeless than the Villacis thing was.
Elarton actually cost the Royals any chance of winning two games this time around. Not only did he abjectly surrender in his own start, but the probability of him abjectly surrendering on Tuesday forced Bell to use his bullpen differently on Monday.
After Odalis Perez managed to get through seven innings (and I have no idea how many favors he called in with The Almighty to accomplish that), the Royals went into the 8th and 9th down just two runs. It was a game. But knowing that all hands would almost certainly have to be on deck the next night once Elarton demonstrated the fine art of self-immolation, Bell had to leave his best relievers in the pen and go with the rookie with the 6.something ERA. And not just for one inning, but TWO. Predictably, hilarity ensued in the form of a 5-run Yankee 9th.
Even if the Royals had ultimately lost the game on Monday, wouldn't it have been pretty fun to see Billy Butler representing the tying run against Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the 9th inning? Pretty neat trick on Elarton's part to deprive us of that through nothing more than his ominous presence.
If Bell had any brains he would have used our best relievers Monday night to keep us in the game. Remind me again why you want to use your best relievers in a game where you know you'll be down 5-10 runs within the first 3 innings?
Sounds like bad bullpen management on Bell's part.
Why, exactly, did Bell have to leave his best relievers in the pen and go with the rookie with the 6.something ERA? If Elarton was going to be blown out the next day, then the rookie could be used in a low-leverage situation and eat some innings. The good relievers would be wasted in that situation, since all they would be able to do is reduce the margin of defeat.
He did it exactly backwards... did I miss some sarcasm? In any event, I'm glad he did it that way. Nice to have 2 wins going into 2 games that will be started by Moose and Igawa. *shudder*
I thought sarcasm about Bell's use of the bullpen was assumed. My bad.
Ah, so it was sarcasm. It's sometimes tough to identify in the written word. I declare you sane. :)
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