*The Ohio State University took another hit. Kicker Jonathan "Awww skeet skeet" Skeete was arrested for trafficking the hippie lettuce. He has been suspended from the team...and most likely thrown off. This is just another in a series of PR hits the program has had to deal with over the past....uh, 10 years? Why don’t Ohio State, Miami, Florida State and a few others just form a semi-pro league and just drop the charade?
*Speaking of Ohio....can the Reds get any worse?? They have a horrible pitching staff [even though they attempted to throw money at it] and they cannot hit anything. Well, they can hit a home run....or just strike out. Already, the Reds Nation has given up on the team...and it isn’t even Memorial Day.
*About this whole Terrell Owens holdout: Let him sit. If I was a member of the Eagles brass...I’d just tell him the "kiss off" and play on without him. I mean, the team did navigate thru the playoffs without him....after three seasons of getting to the NFC title game without him. Let him sit. Especially when their first five games feature a rematch of the NFC title game [Atlanta], a game against TO’s former team [San Francisco], a game featuring the other biggest name receiver [Oakland], a game against one of the NFL’s bad defenses [Kansas City] and a big rivalry game [Dallas]. All games that Owens could excel in.
*The commissioners of the NHL, MLB, NBA and NFL will be attending Senate hearings about steroids [as well as commissioners of smaller leagues]. This will be a very touchy subject...as the NHL is in the middle of an ugly labor dispute....one which the NBA is also facing. But...I think this is a setting where you will see David Stern shine. We’ve already seen what Bud Selig does under the heat....and Paul Tagliabue just looks and sounds like he’s reading from a script. Gary Bettman acts like a guy who’s trying to lie his way thru an argument. But Stern is a tad different. Stern has charm...something sorely missing in the others. Even if you hate Stern or don’t agree with what he says....he can charm you. He can sell it. He does give stock answers...but does so with lively embellishment. When backed into a corner...Stern can get snippy and unpleasant. But hedoes so, usually, with a smile. Remember after the Brawl in November...when Stern gave out his punishments. In a dark time for the NBA, Stern still got off the "it was unanimous. 1-0" slam.
*Not to long ago, I had a very distasteful blog entry about the massive amounts of people declaring for the NBA draft. It has gotten even worse. Duke’s Shavlik Randolph has declared. WHAT!?!? JJ Redick and Sheldon Williams stay in school....but ol’ Shav declares? This follows Kentucky’s Randolph Morris declaring earlier in the week. There are now 11 high school kids declared and dozens of underclassmen declared. Of course, today is the final day to put your name in the hat. But, as of now...there are 66 underclassmen declared for a draft that has only 60 selections. And that doesn't even count seniors and foreign players.
Watch Huggs get arrested http://wcpo.com/cgi-bin/vembed.pl...
*The University of Cincinnati is getting set to enter the Big East. They may do so without hoops coach Bob Huggins. After meeting with school officials, Huggins did not get an extension or a rollover of his current deal. In fact, a buyout was discussed. Why? Well, the program has hit some tough times of late. Two players quit the team recently....one flunking out and one admitting to having a weapon on campus. This comes after years of disappointments on the court [mainly in the NCAA tournament] that many feel is the cause of playing in a secondary conference. The move to the Big East was to change that. Also, last year Huggins was arrested in an embarrassing DUI case, which was caught on tape. He was suspended for a time [his assistant coach also recently caught a DUI case]. What this all looks like to me is that Cincy may be looking to go in a new direction. With the move to the new conference, their program may look enticing to big name coaches. Huggins act may have worn out its welcome in the Nati. While he may work things on contractually, he may still have to work to keep his job.
*Isn’t it great when supposedly smart people don’t think things through? Marquette made an announcement that they’d be changing their name from the Golden Eagles to just "Gold". Yup....the Marquette Gold. I guess this was to capitalize on them going into the Big East. A little problem......no one likes it. Students were disgusted and fans were livid. Even Dwayne Wade was peeved. This would be the third different name in 11 years for ‘Quette [they were the Warriors until 1994]. Fans, students and faculty will vote on a new name.
*I guess the best way to keep them from fighting is to bury them underground. The Palace Of Auburn Hills has this nifty idea to offer underground luxury suites. Yeah....underground. This means that these suites will have absolutely no view of the action on the court. None. The suites provide access to the "nightlife" in the Palace....including a plasma TV showing the game above them. Just another sign of arenas trying to satisfy non-fans.
*Anaheim has a plan set to build an NFL stadium. But who do you move there? The Colts and Cardinals now have stadium deals in place. So who? Move the New Orleans Saints there. Do it. Nothing against New Orleans [except that they cannot support a team], but Tom Benson’s constant whining over his Superdome lease has just worn thin. He’s already threatened to move the team to San Antonio, Albuquerque or Los Angeles. There is an exit clause after the 2005 season that Benson could get out of his lease. He wants a new NewOrleans stadium....but will settle for a refurbished Superdome and some cash kickbacks. If I was the state of Louisiana [who handles this thing], I’d tell him to walk. With the current economy in N’Awlins....it isn’t worth keeping the Saints around. I mean, all the Saints have given the community is one playoff win, Archie Manning and a club-footed kicker. The Super Bowl will still come to the Big Easy...so they’ll cash in there.
*This whole Shaq vs Buss thing is just plain absurd. It is like two kids bickering. First off, they need to move on. Buss shouldn’t said anything about Shaq except "we did what we did...and I hope it works out for everyone." Not that what Buss said was really incorrect....but you don't tell a fat lady she is fat either. Shaq needs to move on as well. All year long he has quipped about the Lakers....as if it was an old girlfriend or something. I mean...HE DEMANDED THE TRADE! People tend to forget that with Shaq’s childlike playfulness...come his childlike emotions. He sulked when he didn’t get his way. I read someone who said "the trade from the Lakers [in favor of Kobe] ripped away at his Superman ego" which is true. The Lakers were prepared to turn the keys over the Kobe....and Shaq didn’t like it. And, really, what is different? He can go to Miami and go out of his way to say Wade is the man....yet couldn’t for Kobe. He is on a title contending team....as he was with Kobe. He still hasn’t gotten the extension he so adamantly wanted. Yet his health is still in question [despite dropping the weight] and his stats steadily declined. The only difference is that now Shaq is loved again....while people were still taking shots at him in LA about his desire, weight, injuries and attitude. In Miami....he suddenly lost his fat, played out the season [until the Heat clinched], put together an MVP effort and says everything popular to the Miami media. But Kobe's the skunk???
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