I have to admit, this edition of The Sports Don’s Sunday Musings was harder for me to compile than the previous two weeks. Maybe it’s because I’m still bull over Steven the Black Jack Dealer cheating me out of all of my money at Foxwoods or perhaps it’s because I’m trying to remember to DVR Dark Days in Monkey City. Either way, I still managed to ramble on especially long this weekend so I’ll keep the words typed in the remainder of my intro to a minimum...here it is.
In case you missed them, here are Edition I and Edition II.
1.) In my last blog, I pontificated on Major League Baseball’s steroid era and the subsequent reaction by the majority of those who have graced the world with their opinion. The gist of my argument was regardless of the transgressions committed by an unfortunate number of ballplayers, fans and the media alike cannot comprehend the immense pressure which accompanies a professional athlete day-to-day and more simply, everyone errs, including you. It may be idealistic, but I believe that in most situations in life, everyone deserves a second chance. Although, with every lie that escapes his lip-gloss coated mouth, I’m beginning to think Alex Rodriguez shouldn’t be given another opportunity to speak. The contradictions presented during last Tuesday’s press conference were innumerable, and it seems more lies are revealed with each day that passes. With Thursday’s post, I put my status as a person deserving of an opinion on the line, and though his actions haven’t stripped me of that right, the deceitful A-Rod is making me look like a burro for defending him. Rodriguez asked the media to allow his mistake to remain in the past while he and his teammates enjoy “the best season of their lives”, but with every mistruth he utters, the saga is prolonged and his respectability further diminishes. If A-Rod truly wants the remainder of his career to be judged solely on what he does from this point forward, this point forward needs to begin truthfully and immediately. As Wilson advised last night on a rerun of Home Improvement, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Unfortunately for everyone involved, Rodriguez continues to stumble and, alas, he’s looking like the burro.
2.) As fans enjoy an entertaining NBA season, players have been dropping faster than the supporting cast in a horror movie. In the last month, Milwaukee’s Michael Redd (torn ACL and MCL) and Minnesota’s Al Jefferson’s (torn ACL) have had their seasons ended, Jameer Nelson’s (shoulder) season is most likely over in Orlando as well, and Phoenix’s Amar’e Stoudemire (eye) will miss the remainder of the regular season. Not to mention the ailing Manu Ginobli in San Antonio and Dallas’ Jason Terry mucking up the top and bottom of the Western Conference standings. While all unfortunate, the injury I’m most concerned with is the one that hits closest to home and that’s Kevin Garnett’s strained right knee. It has already been announced Garnett will miss the final three games of the Celtics’ current road trip and at least the next two to three weeks. The absence of the Big Ticket could cost Boston the first seed in the East and may also potentially expedite Boston’s acquisition of a big man. Forever attempting to be the optimist, this injury could be a blessing in disguise as the always full throttle Garnett will have an opportunity to recuperate prior to the postseason while Leon Powe and Big Baby Davis are afforded additional playing time to further prove their mettle. The question remains, while KG begrudgingly enjoys some time off, will the supplementary pressure on Ray Allen and Paul Pierce wear that duo down for the same playoffs KG will now be rested for?
3.) While on the topic of Boston sports, my buddy Croce emailed me about ESPN’s Mt. Rushmore of Sports. Ever since the disturbingly lame “Who’s Now”, I haven’t paid much attention to any of ESPN’s countdowns or lists as the network continues to become the MTV of Sports, but this compilation is especially interesting since it would be hard enough to do a Mt. Rushmore solely for the Celtics. In a state like Massachusetts, one where there are four major professional sports teams with lengthy histories, it’s remarkably difficult to decide on the four faces that should be chosen. The geniuses at ESPN chiseled out Ted Williams, Bobby Orr, Tom Brady and Red Auerbach, and I must say, there isn’t a whole lot to complain about. But like Croce asked, “How can they leave out Bird? That would be like the Catholic Church doing a Mt. Rushmore and leaving out Jesus”. Blasphemous? Yes. Totally off base? Probably not. Larry Bird is one of the five greatest players ever, won three championships and three consecutive Most Valuable Player awards. I’ve given it a lot of thought, and while I’m splitting hairs here, for the sake of the argument, the only definite on that list is Orr. Ted Williams may have been the greatest all-round hitter baseball has ever known, but he never won a World Series. Tom Brady has been uber-successful, but he hasn’t done it long enough and what would he be without Bill Belichick? Red Auerbach may have been a major factor in 16 championships, but he never actually played the game (I’m cursing myself as I type all of this, but I’m just playing devil’s advocate). I honestly couldn’t tell who I’d remove without spending another five hours on this blog to only still be unhappy with my decision so I’m OK with ESPN’s. I just wanted to give you something to think about.
4.) What exactly is Alabama’s Andre Smith doing? I may not follow college football as closely as a handful of other sports, but I still know a moron when I seen one. Presented with the greatest opportunity of his young life, Smith seems to be wasting it as the left tackle out of ‘Bama exited the NFL combine yesterday without even working out. The former potential number one or two pick told NFL teams he was not prepared to workout and still doesn’t have an agent, this after missing the Sugar Bowl in January due to complications regarding premature talks with an agent. Smith will undoubtedly still be drafted, and still be drafted high, but he has certainly not made the best of impressions on his future employees and whether he realizes it or not, millions of dollars just rushed right passed him.
5.) I have decided to randomly incorporate a new segment into The Sports Don’s Sunday Musings called His-Story where I call to mind a retired athlete’s glory days and relate their true awesomeness with no apparent rhyme or reason to why that athlete is selected for that week. In this inaugural His-Story piece, I’d like to educate my readers on one Frank Robinson. To many of today’s fans, the former Cincinnati and Baltimore great is a Hall of Fame ballplayer who had little success as a manager and one of the last sluggers Barry Bonds passed on his way to the seemingly tainted homerun record. While accurate, that doesn’t exactly encapsulate Robinson’s greatness. At the age of 20, the outfielder hit a whopping 38 homeruns in 1956 on his way to Rookie of the Year honors (the most by any first year player until Mark McGwire’s 49 in 1987), won two MVP awards (the first and still only player two win the award in both leagues), finished in the top ten of the MVP vote nine times, captured the triple crown in 1966, was a 12x All-Star, and even more notably was the first black manager in MLB history. Robinson was a member of five World Series teams winning twice, and while he led the majors in homeruns just once (1966 when he hit a career high 49), Robinson finished in the top ten in 15 of his 21 seasons. He was career .294 hitter, clubbed 586 homeruns (fourth most upon his retirement), 1812 RBI (12th most upon retirement), 528 doubles, launched 12 walk off homeruns (tied for the most all-time), was the only player in history to hit a homerun completely out of Memorial Stadium and did this all while playing at a time when the color of his skin mattered to far too many people. At the age of 50 in an old-timers game, after being knocked down on the previous pitch by a hurler whose name escapes me but was only a year removed from professional ball and still throwing hard, Robinson drove the next pitch over the leftfield wall. Considered one of the most under appreciated players of all-time, amazingly, Robinson was not included on the MLB’s All-Century team, which I learned yesterday afternoon. Though not as heinous, Robinson’s omission is just another stain on the Bud Selig era. We thought the commissioner’s dubious handling of the steroids age was botched, but we should have seen it coming when whoever he put in charge of selecting the All-Century team left off one of the all-time greats.
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