Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 1111 of 1503)

      Why play baseball? For the money of course.

      October 17, 2008 /

      When recently asked whether or not he intends to re-sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers Manny Ramirez said: “I want to see who is the highest bidder.”

      Manny RamirezThat bidding could approach, or exceed, $100 million. If the Dodgers do not win the bidding, or drop out at what might well be a justifiable point, it is not the player with the openly mercenary attitude who would be left in Los Angeles to dodge the criticism.

      It would be McCourt, and the Dodgers.

      “They’re in a tough spot,” said David Carter, executive director of the USC Sports Business Institute. “That could be a prudent decision based on what’s going on in the marketplace, and yet they’ll still get skewered for allowing him to leave.

      “I don’t see any middle ground. If they let him go, it will reinforce the perception they’re not committed to winning. If they sign him, it will materially move the needle in their favor, and the fans will rally around him.”

      Normally any player that essentially says that he plays the game for money is fair game to be publicly tarred and feathered. But I almost applaud Manny for being completely 100% honest. He’s destructive in a weird way, but whatever team signs him knows that and knows exactly what they’re getting. (I.e. A fantastic hitter, a phenomenal quote machine and one goofy personality.)

      I’ll go ahead and beat all Yankee-haters to the bunch and say that Manny will be in pinstripes next year if he’s waiting to see who the highest bidder will be this offseason.

      MLB

      High School pep rallies sure have changed

      October 17, 2008 /

      SPORTSbyBROOKS.com details the story of Nacogdoches High School in Texas and their cheerleaders going a little too far with at recent pep rally.

      Seems Nacogdoches High School held a pep rally to hype up the students before a game. As Enrico Morricone’s famous score blared over the loudspeakers, a group of cheerleaders dressed in the colors of rival Center High School “kidnapped” Duke the Dragon, Nacogdoches’ mascot. Then a second group of cheerleaders came and rescued Duke, subdued the CHS cheerleaders, forced them to kneel on the floor, and “executed” them with toy guns. Surprisingly, some people aren’t too pleased. (Zapruder-esque footage after the jump.)

      Students at NHS began circulating a petition criticizing the glorification of guns. Imagine that! That goes against every stereotype I’ve been raised to believe about Texas. Then an editorial appeared the the school paper, but not after undergoing some heavy editing from principal Nathan Chaddick, who not only took the piece off the front page, but excised parts he found overkill. The paragraphs he deemed inappropriate?

      “We realize it was intended to raise school spirit, but it is inappropriate to allow such a display of excessive violence in a high school. This is not only unacceptable in a school environment, but also from a moral standpoint. This skit did not portray the other team as our opponent in a sports game, but as an enemy.

      This skit and all of its implications were approved by an authoritative figure with the power and responsibility to edit the skit.

      Such an authority should certainly show more discretion in the future.”

      Oh yeah, that’ll foment a revolution in the halls. Chaddick said he censored and moved the editorial because the authors had a personal grudge against the cheerleaders. I’m not sure what twisted, backwoods, “Mean Girls” world he’s living in, and I generally support his pro-cheerleader agenda, but it’s hard to justify what he calls “a little country, cowboy-type skit.”

      As for the game? Nacogdoches went on to murder Center, 26-6.

      Back in my day (ah crap, I didn’t think I would ever say that), we painted our rivals rock. Now cheerleaders are performing fake executions. Sweet mother of crap…

      General Sports, Video

      Report: Teams acted in concert against Barry Bonds

      October 17, 2008 /

      The MLB player’s association says that baseball teams acted in concert against signing Barry Bonds this offseason. In other words, they all got together and made the decision to avoid him like the plague.

      Weiner said the section that had been violated was Article XX (e) of the collective bargaining agreement, which states, in part: “Players shall not act in concert with other players and clubs shall not act in concert with other clubs.” Weiner would not say how long the agreement runs to allow the union to file a grievance.

      Baseball attorneys repeatedly have denied that teams acted in concert against Bonds. Management lawyer Dan Halem said Thursday that MLB would have no additional comment.

      Bonds pleaded not guilty to 14 counts of making false declarations to a federal grand jury and one count of obstruction of justice, and his trial is scheduled to start March 2. Any grievance is likely to follow the trial.

      “The timing of the filing of the case is between the players’ union and the commissioner’s office,” Borris said.

      After spending a lot of time during the first half of 2008 trying to get Bonds signed, Borris has stopped his efforts.

      “I am convinced based on MLB’s actions in 2008 that they will never let him wear a major league uniform ever again,” he said.

      While the teams broke a rule to do so, I think the message is loud and clear: no team wanted Bonds in their clubhouse this year. What I don’t get is why all of these teams got together. If nobody wanted him, what’s the harm in telling Borris, “We’re not interested – thank you.” Why get together to conspire against signing him and therefore break a rule?

      MLB

      Mountain West loses in BYU’s crushing defeat

      October 17, 2008 /

      TCU Horned FrogsTCU absolutely hammered No. 9 BYU Thursday night, 32-7 in what was a route from the very beginning. And as Kurt Kragthorpe of The Salt Lake City Tribune writes, even though TCU’s victory provided a major upset, the Mountain West loses out on a whole with BYU falling from the rankings.

      We’ll know more when the first BCS standings of the season are published Sunday, but BYU obviously is the big loser at the moment – and so, potentially, is the Mountain West. The winner might be Boise State. It could become a case where the MWC schools – with Utah hosting both the Frogs and Cougars next month – knock each other out and push Boise State into the one BCS slot promised to an outsider that finishes in the top 12.

      Clearly, BYU did not even belong on the same field with TCU. The Frogs confused, rattled and frustrated the Cougars. Quarterback Andy Dalton picked on BYU’s cornerbacks with sideline patterns, a direct snap to receiver Jeremy Kerley worked nearly every time, and TCU sustained long drives.

      That was a complete smack down, but the Cougars had their opportunities. Multiple times BYU drove into the red zone only to come away with one touchdown. Max Hall threw two interceptions in TCU territory and fumbled once more. On a night where the Horned Frogs played their best game of the season, BYU couldn’t afford to make any mistakes and that’s exactly what happened.

      College Football

      Media Reactions: Red Sox defeat Rays 8-7 in dramatic comeback

      October 17, 2008 /

      Tampa Bay Rays– Steve Buckley recaps how the Red Sox snatched victory out of nowhere. (Boston Herald)

      – Gary Shelton is worried about the Rays. He gives credit to Boston for a great comeback, but notes that Tampa will still close out the series. (St. Petersburg Times)

      – Joe Posnanski had another post ready to go for when the Rays closed out the Sox in Game 5, but had to scrap it to write about how unbelievable Boston’s comeback was. (Joe Posnanski.com)

      – Martin Fennelly writes that Tampa was just seven outs away from heading to the World Series and then the 2007 Rays showed up to blow the opportunity. (Tampa Tribune)

      – Thomas Boswell searches for blame in Tampa’s collapse and notes that Joe Maddon managed the Rays out of a win. (Washington Post)

      – Dick Scanlon writes that the series just got much harder for the Rays. (The Ledger)

      MLB

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