The Weekend Wrap

Things we learned:

- Nobody really has any clue when it comes to picking the NCAA Tournament bracket. We all get our upsets from year to year, but the thing is just way too unpredictable. The chances of anyone actually having picked Bucknell & Vermont in round 1 and West Virginia & UW-Milwaukee in round 2 are very slim. I guess I would have to say I am better at telling you who is not going to do well, rather than who is going to do well. I told anyone that would listen that Kansas & Wake Forest were not contenders. Of course I also thought Syracuse, Alabama, and Connecticut were. See what I mean nobody really knows, but it is sure fun to watch.

- Rednecks in the state of South Carolina are truly excited about Steve Spurrier being their Ole Ball Coach. Over 3,000 fans turned out Saturday morning for the first spring practice of the year. Not a scrimmage or anything, just a regular old practice, and these yahoo’s were there in full force. There is nothing quite like a first practice in spring under a new coach; nobody knows where to go, QB’s are repeatedly fumbling snaps, coach’s calling players by the wrong names, yet these bastards were totally fascinated by the whole thing. To such an extent were they fascinated that they were able to go on the internet later and begin to draw conclusions on the future success of this team from the 45 minute segment of the practice they were allowed in for.

- This golf season is shaping up to be one for the ages. I know Golf is not a popular topic, but how could people not be looking forward to this years Majors. Tiger Woods, Retief Goosen, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, and Phil Mickelson are all at the very top of their games. This weekend’s Bay Hill gave us a great look at what is to come at the Major Championships this spring and summer


Things I liked:

- Spring Break: Shark Attack. What a brilliant movie. There was some ridiculous plot about people in love or something, but then the last 30 minutes turned into the worst thriller I have ever seen. For some reason and ass load of sharks decided to just feast on some dopey ass drunk spring breakers. I absolutely loved this movie, the only thing that could have made it better were if it were based on actual events. There is nothing I hate more than college spring breakers. My dream is for this to happen at the beach where MTV is holding their spring break nonsense that would be the greatest day of my life.

- AMC provided me with something to watch during commercial breaks or when the games got lackluster this weekend. They had an all day Rocky fest Saturday and Sunday. I really never get tired of watching those movies. I saw all my favorite scenes at least twice this weekend.



Things I disliked

- Anyone still pretending to care about steroids in baseball. This thing that happened with congress just reaffirmed my stance of non involvement. Nobody cares, stop fucking talking about it. Here is what baseball fans care about; the health of their pitchers, do they have any back up outfielders, and will (fill in the blank) stay injury free this year so we can make a run at the playoffs. McGwire did steroids; I get it, now who cares…………..oh that’s right, nobody. This is all that needs to be said about the steroid issue: Before last season Barry Bonds was finally linked to involvement with steroids through the arrests and raids of the BALCO Labs. Nobody likes Bonds (supposedly) and had always suspected him of having used steroids, and now some proof was finally beginning to emerge. Well last season, do you know what team led baseball in Road Attendance? That’s right folks the San Francisco Giants. And it wasn’t because fans were turning out to see JT Snow or Marquis Grissom (these two old useless bastards are still playing); nope it was to see the greatest player of all time, BARRY LAMAR BONDS!!!! Stop pretending to be so self-righteous and caring about the integrity of the game and what do we tell the children. The game has no integrity. Tell the children the truth; you do steroids you get big and strong and chicks want to have sex with you, but your balls also shrink to the size of peanuts and your heart could stop at any minute, hey nobody said life was easy.

- Clark Kellogg and Seth Davis. What is the point in having these two ass clowns on during the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament? Next weekend maybe they can provide some analysis when there aren’t game going on, but this past weekend all they would do was sit there as Greg Gumble swiftly moved us from halftime of our game, to other action from around the country. There were certain segments of the broadcast (and take this from a man who watched every minute of CBS’s coverage this weekend) were these 2 guys when 3 hours without saying a word. And when they did provide analysis it usually sucked.

Day 1 Review

That’s it folks, one day is in the books and what have we learned? Well, first of all I suck at picking anything. Dan Filowitz (A Great Jew) sent me a wonderful e-mail last evening, taking a direct quote from my previous post talking about how UW-Milwaukee would not make it past Alabama in Round 1. However, I will defend myself. If you look at the time of that post it was 1:11 pm, which was approximately halftime of the UWM-Alabama game, in which the Crimson Tide trailed by 13, yet I stuck to what I had written earlier in the day and posted it anyway. That is what we call integrity folks!!!

As for the play in Day one I was disturbed and excited all in the same breathe. The one thing I did not like was the fact that the games seemed very physical to me. The referee’s were allowing far too much on ball contact on the perimeter and allowing post defenders to wrap their arms around offensive players and dive around for steals. Maybe some of the ref’s had some first day jitters as well. But the physical play made for some awful basketball. I was excited to see the close competitive games. Almost every game nowadays is a toss up. No longer are the days where #1 seeds are 32 point favorites and covering. Winthrop had a real shot at Gonzaga, Montana was with Washington step for step, and UT-Chattanooga forced Wake to come alive in the second half.

PLAYER OF THE DAY: It is a tie between my two favorite players, Adam Morrison and Andrew Bogut. Both of these guys showed out all game and made big plays down the stretch for their teams. Morrison did it all, scoring a game high 27 points grabbing six boards and dishing out 5 assists, and for good measure he had a block and two steals. He scored 17 second half points including the game changing 3-pointer from about 28 feet as the shot clock was winding down. Bogut did most of his scoring damage in the first half with 17 points. But in the second half he rebounded his tail off and changed a number of shots in the lane, and had two blocks at the end of the game to seal the victory. He finished the game with 24 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocks while enduring triple teams and playing all 40 minutes.

GAME OF THE DAY: Utah vs. UTEP was a great basketball game. Two hard nosed defensive teams battled it out from start to finish. Both teams are under first year head coaches and from the looks of things both these teams will continue to be a factor in the tournament for years to come. Seven players played thirty plus minutes, and at the end of the game everyone was exhausted. Unfortunately most of the other games did not live up to this one; this was a true college basketball gem.

COACH OF THE DAY: Tom Green, of Fairleigh Dickinson University. He had his team prepared and not playing in fear of the big bad Illini in Indianapolis. Most people expected a blowout, but Greens Knights played aggressive defense and efficient offense. They frustrated Illinois’s guards by changing defensive throughout the game. Illinois shot 27% from 3-pt range which is a credit to FDU’s defense; Coach Tom Green deserves a lot of that credit.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR IN DAY 2: Who is not excited about St. Mary’s vs. Southern Illinois. This shapes up to be the game of the day for me. The nation will get to see 2 very good teams in action. I am also interested in seeing how well UConn will play, now with the injury to PG Marcus Williams, and since I picked them to go all the way. Some teams to look for who are playing well also are; Lousiville is coming off of winning the C-USA tournament and Francisco Garcia can will his team to victories, New Mexico has also played well down the stretch running the MWC tournament and playing a lackluster Villanova team, and lastly Syracuse is an interesting team to watch. The Orange are an odds on favorite in a lot of brackets, but their first round match up is no cupcake. The Vermont Catamounts are a good team with a great player in Taylor Coppenwrath and a departing coach, and playing in Worcester Mass they may have the entire student body there. It is important for Coach Boheim’s team to get off to a good start. Upset special of the day, George Washington over Georgia Tech. And with mys success in the tournament so far I encourage all of you to go out and put all your money on the Yellow Jackets to win, cover and cover big!!!

The Expert Picks

Finally, the time is here. All the pundits have weighed in with their opinions on who is going to the Final Four, and now is the time that The Expert gives his opinion. We will go region by region identifying the favorite, the sleeper, the overrated team and who will make it out of that region and into the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis (by the way, who the heck is Edward Jones? He has a whole Dome named after him, he must be rich).

CHICAGO
Favorite: The Fighting Illini of Illinois are the favorite by most to come out of this region. Oklahoma State has had another good year, but the experts like the guard play of Illinois and they should make their way to St. Louis.

Sleeper: The LSU Tigers. Yeah they are not a fancy pick or even a mid-major sleeper, but this team can play. They lack the overall depth to go all the way, but nobody in the country has a tandem in the paint like Brandon Bass (SEC Player & Scholar Athlete of the Year) and Glen “Big Baby” Davis (SEC Freshman of the Year). Their guards can fly up and down the court and their shooter Antonio Hudson plays well in Domes (just ask anyone who has played against him in the Georgia Dome during SEC Tournament play).

Overrated: UW-Milwaukee, huh Kris they are rated high? No, but they are a favorite sleeper pick for everyone. However, I just see no way that they get past their first round game against Alabama.

My Pick: I am going to go with Illinois. I know some people are sleeping on them as of late, but guard play wins in the Tournament. I relate this team to Arizona’s championship team of a few years ago, when they had a superb three guard tandem and just enough inside presence to win the big games.

ALBUQUERQUE

Favorite: Wake Forest. The Deamon Deacons have been a favorite pick all year. Led by All-American guard & All-American Scrotum puncher Chris Paul they have been looking toward this moment all year long. They stumbled a little late in the season, but everyone expects to see them in St. Louis.

Sleeper: The Pittsburgh Panthers are a very good team. They had some trouble in the Big East later in the season, but they also have excellent guard play. The inside/outside tandem of Carl Krauser and Chevon Troutman always play well in big games.

Overrated: Yes I am going to say the Washington Huskies. I know it is now vogue for everyone to point out how good they are and how everyone, like me, is downplaying them, but honestly they are an okay team. The won the Pac-10 conference which I believe is as weak as it’s ever been (East Coast Bias, another buzz word/phrase that I despise, I can’t help it that the West Coast sucks). I also see no big time interior players for them to rely on, although Nate Robinson is an outstanding guard.

My Pick: I have wrestled with this all week. I feel the Louisville Cardinals are being short changed; they have a superstar player and even superstarer coach. But I have finally joined the Gonzaga train. I watched this team play this year and they are as good as anyone in the country. I think this is the year for them. They have all the ingredients; they are no longer the vogue pick, they have terrific guard play with Derek Ravio, and a go to super star in Adam Morrison.

SYRACUSE:

Favorite: Everyone loves Roy Williams and the UNC Tar Heels. They are talented, deep, well coached and have a plethora of go to players. They are primed and ready to add another championship to the legacy of North Carolina basketball. and I believe they can.

Sleeper: The Florida Gators are playing as well as anyone in the tournament. They have great guards with Anthony Roberson & Matt Walsh and a tenacious post player in David Lee. Also, I like the Charlotte 49ers, they are very underrated, Bobby Lutz is one of the true coaching gems in the country.

Overrated: The Kansas Jayhawks may struggle this year. Everyone likes the fact that they have senior leadership. But all too often this year I have seen some of those seniors (Aaron Miles & Keith Langford) disappear down the stretch. To me they are a very trendy pick to exit the tournament early; I am looking at their pending second round game with Wisconsin.

My Pick: I have gone back and forth with this bracket as well. I have thought the Tar Heels have been the team all year long. However, every time I watch the UConn Huskies I am more and more impressed. Marcus Williams, the Point Guard, has finally come around and in the paint they have no rival in the country. I think they will prove too much inside for everyone and will get to the Final Four.

AUSTIN

Favorite: The Syracuse Orange are the pick on everyone’s minds and in everyone’s brackets. They are lead but a great trio of great players; the steady Gerry McNamara, the All-American Hakim Warrick and the underrated & very effective Josh Pace. This is a team with championship experience and a Hall of Fame coach.

Sleeper: UTEP. The Miners are a very talented and deep team and have a great deal of experience. Their top 8 players are juniors and seniors and they are lead by a great scorer in Small Forward Omar Thomas (20 ppg). Their first round match up with Utah should be a great game.

Overrated: The Duke Blue Devils. This team is not very deep and I just don’t think they have the make up to go all the way. Yes JJ Redick and Shelden Williams are great, but I worry about the Lee Melchioni, David McClure and Sean Dockery’s of the world. I just think they can be beaten, but never count Coach K and his Blue Devils out.

My Pick: No surprise here, I am going with Jim Boheim and the Big Orange. I love Hakim Warrick and McNamara and to me this team is developing a swagger. I think their intangible players like Craig Forth, Louie McCrosky and Josh Pace all know their roles and execute them perfectly.

I will take Illinois over Gonzaga and UConn over Syracuse. And in the upset, I have Jim Calhoun and the Huskies cutting the nets down once again. Again, I watch way to much basketball to actually be an expert on the subject, so I am sure to be wrong.

We have a lot to get to today, so this is basically going to be a quick round up of what I think of the field of 64…..er….ummmm…..65.

BEST SEED: The Washington Huskies. This team blows, and no it is not an east coast biased, I am a knowledgeable aficionado of the game. No way have they deserved to be a #1 seed. Somehow the Pac-10 conference RPI is 3, I am not sure how. Secondly, the selection committee routinely barks that the conference tournaments do not count that much, when actually they must. Washington will be your first #1 seed eliminated

WORST SEED: The Louisville Cardinals. This team is RPI #4 in the country, they are 29-4 and regular season and conference champs in C-USA, which in my opinion is better than the Pac-10. Rick Pitino’s team has Final Four written all over it and the committee gave them a #4 seed, that is terrible. (Runner up is Oklahoma State; they should have been the 4th #1)

PHRASES: March Madness and Cinderella. Last time I checked nobody is going crazy and a girl with a glass slipper has never played in and NCAA tournament game. But I still agree with the phrase Mid-Major. The teams who are Mid-Majors don’t like it, but hey screw them, they are Mid-Major’s.

PLAYERS: Here are some great players whom the country will come to know by the end of this tournament. Kennedy Winston (Alabama) still the most underrated player in the country, Andrew Bogut (Utah) learn his name because David Stern will be saying this soon, “With the first pick in the NBA draft, the Atlanta Hawks select Andrew Bogut.”
Curtis Stinson (Iowa St.) this guy may be faster than Ray Felton. Darren Brooks (S. Illinois) the second greatest Saluki ever, behind Walt Frazier, is the 3 time MVC player of the year. Ronald Ross (Texas Tech) former walk on to first team all Big-12 and played every single minute of Tech’s three Big 12 tournament games averaging over 20 ppg.

TEAMS: Niagara makes their first appearance since they had a little guy named Calvin Murphy who could shoot the lights out (and he knew how to make lots of babies, I love guys who are multi talented). Southern Illinois is making their 3rd straight tournament with their 3rd different coach, is the MVC weak or is (as mentioned above) Darren Brooks that good? Eastern Kentucky making their first dance since 1979 and their Head Coach is UK Wildcat faithful own Travis Ford. The bluegrass will be rocking for that match-up. Charlotte is maybe the most underrated team in the field. Coach Bobby Lutz’s team is strong on the interior has good guard play and C-USA Player of the Year Eddie Basden.

COACH’S: Bruce Pearl (UW-Milwaukee) has led his team to 3 straight dances. Randy Bennett (St. Mary’s) has steadily improved his program for 4 straight years and will probably soon garner a Pac-10 coaching job. Bobby Knight (Texas Tech) some people will say what? But think about this they guy took over a program that was nothing and has only taken them to 3 NCAA’s in four seasons, nobody believed he could do that but the man can flat out coach ‘em up. Gregg Marshall (Winthrop) name seems to pop up every year, yet he is still at Winthrop. He has now gone to 5 Tournaments in 7 seasons, not too bad. Ray Giacoletti (Utah) how many people could have named him? He took over for Majerus and has kept that program in the Top 25. Mark Gottfried (Alabama) just keeps taking his team to the NCAA tournament. He has a solid program that is always among the contenders in the SEC and has made noise in the tournament including last year’s Elite Eight appearance.

Picks will be forthcoming later this week. I will give you Final Four and National Champions as well as some teams that will emerge in the Sweet Sixteen that you might not expect.

College Hoops is still Great

As the College basketball season draws to a regular season close this week and we get ready for March Madness (and the inevitable some chick picking the teams cause they have pretty colors winning the damned pools that Rick Neuhisel is in) I begin to reflect back on this season. For years now we have had an influx of high school stars shoot straight to the NBA, (by the way this is the only time I ever here the term influx ever used, nobody says I had an influx of Doritos into my stomach this afternoon) and hey good for them, but the debate remains is that a good thing. For me, I see it as a good thing all around, I really do. The kids get their money which is what they want, the NBA gets, hopefully, the “next big thing” which is what they want, and college basketball gets a product filled with kids who actually want to be in college and as competitive a field as ever before.

Now I am not going to sit here and tell you that ever college basketball player truly loves his university and would do anything so that he could help the student body celebrate a championship, I am not naive. But the influx of top tier talent to the NBA has helped bring the “Mid Major” programs on a much more competitive level with college basketballs elite. The poster child for this is the Gonzaga Bulldogs, who over the past 6 seasons have risen to the level of any big time program in the country. Other schools are beginning to join Gonzaga as well, out of there own conference the St. Mary’s Gaels are program on the rise and should get an at large bid to the NCAA tournament. The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is perhaps the most underrated in the country, with 5 teams vying to get into the tournament field this season. The Southern Illinois Salukis are on their way to their 4th straight NCAA tournament. This is no fluke either, since 1989 the Salukis have played the post season 11 times (6 NCAA’s & 5 NIT’s). Also in the Missouri Valley Conference Dana Altman’s Creighton team is most likely on their way back to the big dance. Creighton has played in 7 consecutive post seasons, book ending five straight trips to the NCAA Tournament with NIT appearances last year and in 1998. The list of these teams goes on.

You can also see that these teams are going to begin to make serious noise in the tournament as their talent level increases and that is done so through recruiting. No longer is a kid just considering going to a major program. Many kids who may have an opportunity to go to a big time program and maybe not start until they are a Junior are electing to go to these schools were they can contribute right away.

I know the one negative about some of this is people will say is the unfamiliarity with the players. I believe that is true to some degree. You sometimes have trouble figuring out which kids went pro and why Arizona doesn’t have a certain guy you remember. But as college coach’s and fans of the game say, you play for the name on the front of the jersey, not the name on the back. There are though plenty of recognizable stars in the game today; Hakim Warrick, Charlie Villanueva, Wayne Simien, Chris Paul, JJ Redick, Sean May, and Rashaad McCants to name a few. To me college basketball is doing as well it as ever done, and this year’s tournament will be one doozy to pick because of all the great teams that will be there.

Without further adieu, here are your 2004-2005 All Americans:

Hakim Warrick, F-Syracuse: What can you say about this guy? He is a great interior player. When he gets the ball deep just get out of the way, because he will dunk the hell out of it. He has developed a good mid-range game and good face up post game. Dropped in 21 PPG with 8 RPG. Scored over 20 points in 11 of 16 conference games. He comes to play every night and I love his tenacity.

Sean May, F-North Carolina: May has become the best post player in America. His effort on the glass is superior to anyone in college basketball. I have gone back and forth between May and Duke’s Shelden Williams, but with his 26 point 24 rebound performance against Duke May gets the nod. He had 11 double/doubles in league play and had 15+ rebounds 5 times this year, including 19 against Kentucky and 18 against Duke in their first match up. I love guys who do it in the big games.

JJ Redick, G-Duke: Lead the ACC in scoring this year. Scored over 20 points in 12 of 16 league games, pretty remarkable when you consider the other players he has on his team. Has very good skills going to the basket and finished plays in traffic this year, which helped him get to the line where he shoots a ridiculous 93%. The kid plays big all the time even while fans ride him, he just keeps performing and I love his toughness.

Andrew Bogut, C-Utah: And no this is not just because ESPN.com picked him as their player of the year. This guy is outstanding in all facets of the game. He can shoot, plays terrific on the interior, rebounds well, passes the ball, is a solid defender and all while being a 7 feet tall and 250 lbs, and most importantly he is a leader. His team played 5 NCAA tournament teams this year, and in those games he only averaged 21.2 PPG and 14.4 RPG. He scored over 20 points in 18 games They guy is simply the best basketball player in the country regardless of what school or what league he plays in.

Adam Morrison, G-Gonzaga: There isn’t much you can say about this guy that does not praise his basketball skills. He is a very good shooter, has excellent ball skills and finishes very well in the open floor. He has been the leader of the Zags all year long, leading them in scoring and playing huge in their big games. In wins against Washington & Ga. Tech he scored 24 & 26 points. In close loses at Illinois & on a neutral court against Oklahoma St. he had 26 & 19 points. And in the last 2 games in the WCC conference tournament he poured in a total of 55 points.

The Daily Nooner

- The greatest injustice in the history of sports happened the other day. Maurice Cheeks being let go as coach of the Portland Trail Blazers was a joke. This man throughout his playing career was the perfect teammate, winner and most importantly a gentleman & great representative of the NBA. His legacy was only enhanced, when 2 years ago he walked out onto the court to help a 13 year old girl who was suffering a bit of stage fright and was struggling with the national anthem, unconcerned about what he sounded like, he placed his arm around the young lady, in tears, and helped her polish of the national anthem. For that alone he should keep his job. Never mind the fact that management has not made this thing easy on him either. Of there 15 roster players, 4 of them attended 4 years of college. Again I am all for guys going to the pro’s, but when your entire roster is made of Joel Pryzbilla’s, Travis Outlaw’s and Vladimir Stepania’s of the world, what can one expect?

- So yeah 2 days ago I was happy that the Giants discovered free agency, but alas my bliss was short lived. The Baltimore Ravens scooped up Derrick Mason (yes the Kyle Boller led Ravens). So wrought with anger over that, the offensively challenged NY Giants decided to go out and sign the great Antonio Pierce. He only started with the Redskins because former Giant linebacker (whom the Giants did not want) Michael Barrow went down with an injury. Pierce was an un-drafted free agent out of college and played sparingly on special teams over his first 3 seasons. Now Ernie Acorsi (never to be confused with Jimmy Johnson when it comes to evaluating talent) has decided to pay this character $26 million over 6 years plus a $6.5 million signing bonus. I bet my left testicle that this guy will be cut by the end of the 2006 season.

- Somebody please tell Kevin Federline (Britney Spears beau) that his hat is on crooked, always.

- Can they please stop with this Jordan 20 commercials. Listen, nobody loves Spike Lee more than me, but it is ridiculous to keep harking back to the memory of Jordan. We will never realize what great players are in the NBA and the great future that the league holds if we keep talking about how good the good ole day were when Jordan was there. In fact those days sucked. All you NFL fans will agree with this, nobody had a chance, why was that fun for anyone? The damn guy is done, he’s over with lets talk about the stars we have today. LeBron, Duncan, Garnett, Shaq

- Oh those tricky Gamecocks and the great Lou Holtz. What a fucking scam this guy has been his whole career. Every time he has left a program they have been sanctioned in some way by the NCAA. Once he is gone it was always revealed what a fraud this man actually is. This past year, he supposedly held a class every Monday night during the season to teach kids how to have character and integrity. Well he ain’t a very good teacher. Since those classes began his team engaged in a melee on the field when they were getting there brains beat in, stole computers & video equipment from their own locker rooms, numerous players have had to be kicked out of the program by new Coach Steve Spurrier, a former Holtz player was arrested in Columbia this past week on charges of holding up a credit union, and lastly 2 more players were arrested for breaking into someones dorm room and stealing TV’s & DVD players. Thank god the fraud that is Lou Holtz is out of the game of football.

- Does anyone really care about Martha Stewart and her being in jail and all that nonsense? Certainly not me.

AND

- Sell the NHL as a whole to private investors? Let them run the league and still keep all the franchises and general structure in place. Sounds kind of like a good idea to me. I know purists of the sport will not think so, but haven’t we learned that in anything in life if someone is a purist they are usually an idiot? The NHL needs a shake up to their system and they need the people who are currently running it to tak ea long walk off a short pier. I say sell the NHL product as a whole and let these private businessmen turn this thing back around to where it once was.

The Daily Nooner

- Oh boy oh boy, the Michael Jackson trial has started. This guy rocks. The opening statements are going on and the shit is already beginning to fly. This guy had 1960’s porn with little boys in it. Wow, this guy is such a freak. This is the greatest trial ever. As more details come out I will keep my readers informed.

- Another passion of mine, beside sport and movies, is serial killers. I cannot help but watch and read anything I can about these people. Maybe in some way that makes me deranged, the fact that I enjoy reading of their exploits. Who knows? Anyway, over this past weekend the “BTK” (Blind, torture & kill) Killer was arrested in Wichita. He had killed several victims back in the late 70’s and early 80’s and then seemingly disappeared. When this happens it is usually assume that the killer is either in jail on another crime of dead himself. However, this guy has been a live and living in the same are for over 20 years. More recently he killed two more people and the “BTK” Killer was back. As always, he was the quiet religious guy who lived next door. In fact this whack job was a Cub Scout leader. Man just goes to show you, that your serial killer could be just about anywhere. It seems more and more of these guys are living the double life route. I myself like the more traditional whacko who is a loner and lives by himself and everybody knows he’s weird. You know the John Wayne Gasey, Ted Kacinszki, Jeffery Dahmer type.

- See now it is all coming clean. The more the Steroid issue is talked about in baseball the more we see how many people knew and how many are guilty. I said this 3 weeks ago when Canseco’s book broke the door wide open on this stuff. Everybody knows and nobody care to do anything about it because it was helping everyone out. Padres GM Kevin Towers is admitting he knew the late Ken Caminiti was on the sauce and he did not want to do anything about it. He knew it would hurt Caminiti, hurt his team, and then probably cause him to lose his job. So what did he do about it, nothing? I believe this is an accessory. Again we can debate whether or not these guys broke any rules (there was no rule in place that said he was illegal to use steroids), but if you believe they were wrong, then we must hold the people who knew about it culpable also.

- ESPN Page 2 is slowly but surely becoming the most depressing thing on the planet. I know all my faithful readers here are everyday readers of the worldwide leader in sports. But recently, Page 2, which for a long time made life worth living, is falling off the deep end. Unfortunately Hunter S. Thompson went ahead and killed himself, then The Sports Guy started to become a hack (and not just for his pro New England Stance’s), and now they have gone ahead and let the readers vote Amanda Beard the hottest female athlete. First of all, has anyone seen this girl smile? Her teeth make her look like she is the bastard love child of John Elway and Mister Ed. This poor girl is about the third hottest athlete on her own Olympic swim team. They lady she beat in the finals Lokelani McMichael is so much hotter it isn’t even close, Beard herself admitted so. And correct me if I am wrong, Jenny Finch is still alive and has not been horribly mangled in car accident, right? Because if so, comparing Beard to Finch, is like comparing my ass to J-Lo’s bu-dunka-dunk (Dat bitch got nothing on my ass). Geez, this is why people make it so difficult to live, I have trouble believing Amanda Beard is the best looking female in her family.

AND

- For all the loyal readers here, I do have an announcement to make. My talents have been recognized and are now being used in another forum. I have waited awhile to make the official announcement. Dan Filowitz (A Great Jew), long time friend to this fat man and to this site has asked me to join his staff at TalkStation.com. I have agreed. Basically Dan and his friend Chris Zammarelli (and by friend, I mean the guy who he goes to Swingers Club meetings with) have a very popular political/news based website. They are expanding their base of operations and asked me to join as the voice of reason when it comes to the world of sports, my expertise. They are gathering other columnists to deal with politics, the arts, entertainment and other topics. All in all it is a good sight, thought provoking and should provide another much needed forum for my rambling incoherent thoughts. This is no way means the end of “The Wisdom” (that is what the kids are calling it these days); it just means that sometimes there may be overlapping columns. I will continue to work to serve the people in any way I can. Be sure to check out www.TalkStation.com a few times a week to see my latest thoughts on the world of sports. I encourage you to participate actively in Talk Station as well.