Newz Forum: OTHER: The Sports Curmudgeon on John Chaney, SF Giants, the Florida Marlins plus more...

Remember, I have said before that John Chaney should not be fired for the "send in the goons" incident. I stand by that position. But I do have a question about the Athletic Director at Temple University - whoever he or she may be.

I am wondering just what this person does for a living. So far in all the foofraw surrounding the "goon event", we have heard from John Chaney; we have heard from the "administration at Temple" ever so briefly and ever so politely; we have not yet heard from the Athletic Director. And while we're at it, where are the Commissioner and the hierarchy of the Atlantic-10 Conference? So far, all the disciplining and all the punishments have come from Temple while a few additional statements have come from St. Joe's. Now, it seems to me that there is a "problem" or a "dispute" that exists between two members of the same conference. If the resolution of that "dispute/problem" is not of primary importance to the people who run the conference, then let me ask them what the hell they do for a living.

At the very least, I would expect the freeloaders who run the Atlantic-10 Conference to wake up their spin control folks in their publicity department. It may be too late for these folks to do much good but they ought to be doing something other than not returning any phone calls and going out to lunch. At least somebody might suggest that John Chaney was trying to reach out and broaden the appeal of the Atlantic - 10 conference to frustrated NHL fans who have not had any opportunity to see any "goon tactics" for a while. Let's hear something from them - - - anything.

Spring training has moved along to the point where actual games are being added to the mix of drills and practice routines. Nonetheless, the focus is still on those parts of baseball that do not necessarily deal with actual games. For example, the Cubs and the Mets have designated their home games against the SF as "premium games" and will raise ticket prices for everyone who wants to attend those games. Clearly, the reason for this "premium status" is Barry Bonds because the rest of the projected starting line-up is a baseball geriatric ward. JT Snow, Omar Vizquel, Marquis Grissom and Moises Alou are projected as starters for the Giants and all of them are 37 or older. And the projected starting catcher, Mike Matheny is 35. I wonder if the Cubbies and Mets will offer discounted prices to see teams like the Pirates and the Nationals because they have so many young players. I doubt it.

Greg Cote in the Miami Herald noted that the Florida Marlins and the University of Miami were going to play their annual game against each other and that this game might cause Marlins' manager, Jack McKeon, to recall his own collegiate days. But the problem is that "college hadn't been invented yet."

The Baltimore Orioles lead the major leagues at the moment in players "outed" for steroid use by Jose Canseco in his book. At the moment, the Orioles have Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa, Miguel Tejada and Tony Saunders on their roster. If I assume that Canseco is 100% correct in his accusations for just a moment and I also assume that the new testing regimen will reduce steroid use to zero, these four guys could become an interesting sub-set of the Orioles' squad. They might become known as "The Shrinking Violets".

The Cleveland Indians announced a new manager for their farm team in the NY-Penn league, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. The new manager's name is Rouglas Odor. Really, that's his name. Now imagine what the headlines could be if the Scrappers start out the season with a record of 3-26. All I can say is that this team better not "stink" this year of it could get ugly. I suspect that Rouglas Odor is not nearly as sensitive to these kinds of remarks as one might think because he has two sons named Rouglas A. Odor and Rouglas Z. Odor. Therefore, he has provided definitive proof that his is the family that "Stinks From A to Z."

When Barry Larkin retired and left Cincinnati, the team lost a leader and a captain. In line with the modern theories of organizational management, the Reds have eschewed the old hierarchical model of a single authority figure in favor of a more participative approach. The GM has appointed a "leadership council" consisting of five players - Ken Griffey Jr., Sean Casey, Danny Graves, Paul Wilson and Jason LaRue - and he will meet with the "leadership council" monthly over dinner to deal with organizational matters. I bet the manager and the coaches think this is just a swell idea.

Million Dollar Baby is a movie about a woman and boxing; it has received much acclaim recently. Tonya Harding is involved in women's boxing and routinely drags that "sport" down to the level of "spectacle" a couple of times a year. The late Jim Murray had this to say just prior to the first women's boxing match held in California back in the mid-70s:

"Apparently the Bill of Rights includes the right to a detached retina, or a hemorrhage, or a nosebleed, aphasia or any of the traumas of the prize ring. Women don't want men having all the fun."

Just imagine what he might say if saw what women's boxing has become today...

First, the good people of Minnesota had Jesse Ventura as their governor. Now the folks in Anoka County in Minnesota have elected former heavyweight boxer, Scott LeDoux, as a County Commissioner. LeDoux is 56 years old and has been challenging George Foreman to a fight for the last several months. Evidently, LeDoux has also been "challenging" with regard to some other politicians in Minnesota; the St. Paul Pioneer-Press attributes this remark to him:

"One thing about this is that I'm not a politician; I talk the truth. I'm sure I've already offended some guys at the Legislature. But what are they going to do, beat me up?"

How about Jesse "The Body" Ventura and Scott "Punch Catcher" LeDoux in a Minnesota Lumberjack Steel Cage Death Match? That ought to fit nicely on the upcoming boxing card where Tonya Harding will box against a female impersonator. By the way, since when has it become politically incorrect to call someone a transvestite?

Finally, Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel had this comment about yet another of the Spring Training stories of the year:

"Trot Nixon ripping A-Rod? That's like Richard Nixon ripping Abe Lincoln. Just shut up."

But don't get me wrong, I love sports...

Copyright The Sports Curmudgeon










[Edited on 3/6/05 by SportzWriter]