http://www.sportscardforum.com/blogs/828-Voice-of-the-Fan Sports Cards Forum for sports card collectors to buy, sell and trade sports cards. en Mon, 20 May 2013 16:33:23 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.sportscardforum.com/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.sportscardforum.com/blogs/828-Voice-of-the-Fan http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/1575-Stupidity-runs-rampant-in-the-WWE! Wed, 24 Oct 2012 03:20:25 GMT In high school, one of my teachers often complained that "stupidity runs rampant" when the class wasn't exactly swift on the uptake on a particular day. Sad to say, that same malaise of stupidity has a permanent home in the WWE.

The company's much-maligned creative team underwent an overhaul recently, with long-time Raw head writer Brian Gewirtz apparently having been deep-sixed (don't know all the details), among other things, but Vince McMahon's refusal to train his writers in all the nuances of the business is hurting the product, and has for years.

Case in point: Raw had its lowest ratings since the dawn of the Attitude Era on 10/22, drawing a 2.4. Consider the factors involved:

1. NLCS Game 7. Ok, it was a blowout, but people in St. Louis & San Francisco were glued to the game. 'Nuff said.

2. Monday Night Football had an exciting NFC North matchup between long-time division rivals Detroit & Chicago. Ok, that wipes out three media markets in the midwest. Raw is dead in the water.

3. Presidential debate #3 between President Obama & Mitt Romney. For those people who aren't sports junkies.

4. Creative shot itself in the foot again with another change in administrative figureheads.

The last point is actually the most telling. Three months ago, 20-something AJ Lee was plucked from the Divas roster and appointed GM as a panic emergency move because the likely candidate Vince wanted all along (presumably Ric Flair for his 3rd tour of duty in the last 20 years) was unavailable (legal reasons). Lee, in this writer's opinion, was scapegoated because of the low ratings, but it's not her fault. So what does the uncreative team do? They turn the baton over to a proven loser in Vickie Guerrero. Pass the Pepto!

This is where McMahon just doesn't get it. Just 20 months ago, Guerrero was ousted from Smackdown for leading a palace coup against Teddy Long, an angle that was transparent from the go. The fans are sick of the widow's stale, tired act. It's getting embarassing just to casually say, "excuse me", in public without thinking of that shrieking shrew. So why does she get chance after chance?

Sympathy. A competent writer can say through the talent that Vickie has been putting on the protracted act of the bereaved widow, though it's going on 7 years since her husband, former champ Eddie Guerrero, passed away. As fans we can fill the holes and let our imaginations run wild. The solutions are simple:

1. Get rid of Vickie once and for all. Two words: Ratings Poison. She's a stale act in need of a makeover. All played out. Do I really need to say any further?

2. Let the agents-producers (i.e. Dean Malenko, Arn Anderson) write the show instead of a group of shadowy Hollywood failures. It can't be any worse, but rather better.

Triple H is already putting his stamp on the product with recent personnel moves, including long-time friend William Regal now a talent evaluator. I'd take it a step further and give Regal a spot on the creative team. As for Vickie, her whole act runs contrary to the Be A Star campaign, and that has "angle" written all over it. What better way to take her off TV than to send her off to sensitivity training or something, and keep her off TV for 6-10 months?

Those of us who are fans are perfectly capable of writing better than the clowns currently doing so. Unfortunately, our knowledge of the product disqualifies us average folks.

As they used to say in editorials on WPIX in NYC back in the day, what's your opinion? We'd like to know. ]]> hobbyfan http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/1575-Stupidity-runs-rampant-in-the-WWE! http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/1433-The-matchup-the-NBA-wanted-for-the-wrong-reasons Sun, 10 Jun 2012 23:52:39 GMT There's a reason I don't watch much basketball anymore. I'm more of a baseball/football guy, though I'll flip on golf if there's not much else holding my attention.

In the last several years, the NBA has become more about politics, pecking orders, and Madison Avenue, not specifically in that order. The Association is beholden to its corporate partners, and that doesn't stop with ABC/ESPN (Disney) & TNT (Time-Warner). Whether you want to believe it or not, on a legitimately level playing field, I doubt very seriously that Miami could've beaten Boston in 7 games or less. Read between the lines.

On the Eastern Conference side, it's been all about ensuring that LeBunco James and the Heat return to the Finals to try to finish what they started last year, when they choked away a 2-0 lead against Dallas. This is not the same Heat that had Shaquille O'Neal lead them to the promised land 6 years ago against the Mavericks. Oh, no. Mickey Arison & Pat Riley spent money like it was water out of a faucet to bring LeBunco and his cast of stooges, led by William "World Wide" Wesley & Maverick Carter, and Chris Bosh to South Beach to join Dwyane Wade in his quest for a 2nd ring. However, the bad luck that plagued James in Cleveland followed him to Miami, hence the fold in the Finals.

Rightfully, the Finals matchup should've been either San Antonio, who'd run through everyone in the West before running out of gas vs. Oklahoma City, vs. Miami, or the Thunder vs. Boston. Either way, the Finals would've had more of a passing-the-torch theme to it, with the aging Spurs and/or Celtics making that last run before they get repackaged anew. Oklahoma City, relatively the new kids on the block, after the franchise relocated from Seattle, stopped the Spurs cold after dropping the first two games, just like Dallas had done to Miami a year ago in the Finals. Ok, so there's some fresh blood in these Finals, but that doesn't mean the Association is totally with it.

Not only that, but OKC isn't exactly a media capital on the order of LA or NY or even Boston. Miami? Ditto. However, because LeBunco has his endorsement deals (State Farm, Coca-Cola for Sprite), coupled with the angle already there about his avenging last year's choke job, the NBA decided that they needed the Heat in the Finals to goose television ratings, which aren't exactly going to blow people away anyway. Sure, the Stanley Cup finals are almost over, and there's another story waiting to be written there. However, there is baseball, and plenty of intriguing storylines to be had, holding people's attention, such as the Marlins threatening to duplicate the Heat's 2011 choke job, as they're sitting in 4th place in the NL East at this writing. Owner Jeff Loria should've been handed a book on Santayana, if you get my drift.

Boston's Rajan Rondo was reported to have said that the Heat were whining & crying to the refs during a game. I think it was game 5. I guess the league's power brokers realized that Rondo might've said something they didn't like, and so they made sure Miami would keep its date for the Finals at Boston's expense. They just didn't want the facts to get in the way of a good story.

So now we have Miami vs. Oklahoma City. Yes, there is the passing-the-torch angle to consider. Wade, James, & Bosh came into the league together in 2003 as part of that heralded draft class which also included Carmelo Anthony (now with the Knicks). They are finishing their 9th season in the league. Durant has only been in the league, what, 3 years? It's his time. It's just too bad the league either doesn't know that, doesn't want to admit it, or doesn't care, as long as their agenda is kept intact. To the league's power brokers, it's all about LeBunco justifying his decision to chase the money as a means of chasing that elusive championship.

Politics have dropped the NBA, in this writer's opinion, near the bottom of the credibility scale. The onus now is on David Stern to do the right thing and let the title be decided by the best team on the court, and not by politics or a league pecking order. Translated, the referees have to call the game as it's mandated in the rulebook, not according to who the stars are.

Basketball is meant to be marketed as a team game, but that has been lost in the era of marketing individual stars as being bigger than the game. Not just in the pros, but in college as well, which is why you have all these 1-year wonders who use the colleges as a way station to the NBA. It's time the game got a reality check, and soon. ]]> hobbyfan http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/1433-The-matchup-the-NBA-wanted-for-the-wrong-reasons http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/1339-A-Giant-night Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:34:03 GMT The following was posted on one of my other blogs, The Land of Whatever.
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Super Bowl XLVI has just ended, with Tom Brady's last-second Hail Mary pass falling incomplete in the end zone, giving the New York Giants their 4th Super Bowl win, 21-17. It is the 2nd win for Big Blue in the Tom Coughlin era, as he matches Bill Parcells' 2 rings.

Brady, the poster boy for the NFL's policy of overprotecting their star players, committed an odd faux pas early, as a long, incomplete pass was ruled as intentional grounding, simply because, in the officials' view, and I found this strange, to be honest with you, there was no Patriot receiver in the area where the pass was thrown. The officials ruled that Brady threw the ball away to avoid a sack in the end zone, but the result was the same, a safety for the Giants, giving New York an early 2-0 lead. Thing was, Brady's pass flew a good 20 yards or better before it landed on the turf.

Ironically, the Giants spotted Atlanta a 2-0 lead in the Wild Card round, then routed the Falcons after Eli Manning was called for intentional grounding in the end zone. In that instance, Manning's pass didn't travel very far, but the dire straits were enough for the yellow flag.

Manning promptly took the Giants down the field on a touchdown drive to extend the lead to 9-0. New England led, 10-9 at the break. It was 17-15 when the Giants began their final drive. Ahmad Bradshaw scored, but according to the announcers, it appeared the Giants wanted Bradshaw to take a knee before going in, the idea being they wanted to let the clock run and prevent Brady & the Patriots from making one last drive. However, the defense provided Bradshaw with redemption, holding firm, and even tagging Brady for a 6-yard sack. Only a penalty for 12 men on the field prevented this from being a clean drive for the defense. New England gained 2 first downs, but time was slipping away, and after spending their last timeout after the sack, New England was just about done. The final play, with 5 seconds left, was the Hail Mary that ended up incomplete.

Brady's quest to become the first QB since Joe Montana to win 4 Super Bowls ended in failure. He remains tied with Troy Aikman (Dallas) at 3, but there is always next year, and the year after that. Brady's wife, model Gisele Bunschen, made headlines when she had asked fans for prayers for her husband at mid-week.

Had the Patriots won, sure, those prayers would've been answered. The team had dedicated their season to the memory of owner Robert Kraft's late wife, hence her initials on their uniforms. That storyline had been largely ignored all season, underplayed because, well, these are the Patriots, the supposed "evil empire" of the NFL, the football equivalent of the New York Yankees, derided as the "evil empire" by Boston fans in particular. In New York, they weren't getting much sympathy from the press, except maybe the New York Times, the only newspaper in the city proper that doesn't deal in tabloid journalism.

Fans in upstate New York are hoping the Lombardi Trophy comes their way, along with the Giants. After a truncated training camp in New Jersey last year because of the lockout, Giants management has hinted that they would return to Albany this July. We won't know for sure for a while yet, but you can bet if it happens, the University at Albany will be a happening place well before school starts.

As for the overhyped commercials? Fuhgeddaboutit! I wasn't paying much attention this year. About the only thing that I actually bothered with was Elton John for Pepsi. Lah-de-dah. The cameo at the end by Flavor Flav (ex-Public Enemy) was overkill.
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A personal note. I feel sorry for some folks I know.

One is my brother, who became a Patriots fan while in college at UMasss. Another is a guy I bowled with last season, who's dating a woman whose family is riddled with Giants fans (though her brother is an Eagles fan). A third is my high school sweetheart, who now lives in Massachusetts and is married to a local native. She was a Giants fan growing up, and still roots for them occasionally---as long as they're not playing the Patriots, that is. ]]> hobbyfan http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/1339-A-Giant-night http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/1151-The-curse-of-Citi-Field Fri, 06 May 2011 23:06:27 GMT Ever since the New York Mets opened their new playpen in Flushing 2 years ago, the team has been beset by a seemingly endless spate of injuries to key players. Year 3 at Citi Field has been more of... Ever since the New York Mets opened their new playpen in Flushing 2 years ago, the team has been beset by a seemingly endless spate of injuries to key players. Year 3 at Citi Field has been more of the same.

The Mets opened the season knowing their ace, Johan Santana, would not be available until at least mid-July, recovering from shoulder surgery. Outfielder Jason Bay was placed on the DL right before the start of the season, and the impact of his absence was devastating. Bay returned two weeks ago, and the Mets' fortunes have improved. Sure, they're still in the basement of the NL East headed into a weekend series with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Dodgers & Mets have one thing in common. Off-field scandal. The Dodgers are now being run pro tempore by Major League Baseball while owners Frank & Jamie McCourt hash out a divorce settlement, and now comes word that the Dodgers---shudder---can't make payroll. The New York tabloid press would have a field day if the Mets, victimized by Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scam, fell into that same trap. As it is, the Mets are looking for a minority partner to help run the team, but some pundits believe it is best for Fred Wilpon, who bought the team 31 years ago in a partnership with publisher Nelson Doubleday, to sell the team outright to someone who can turn things back around in much the same way the Wilpon family did in the 80's.

However, it isn't quite as easy for the Mets. Irving Picard, a trustee for other Madoff victims, claims the Wilpons profited from the Madoff mess. Total BS, I say. Picard is an ambulance chasing weasel who's chasing the wrong people here. As Don Rickles might put it, give Picard a box of cookies and make him go away!

Back to the injuries. As Bay returned to the lineup on April 17, Angel Pagan went down with the dreaded strained oblique muscle. Jose Reyes suffered the same injury last year and missed a chunk of time. Pagan may not be back until, oh, Memorial Day at the earliest, and that's just being generous.

Reliever Pedro Beato, a rule 5 pickup, is on the DL with tendonitis. Another pitcher, Bobby Parnell has numbness resulting from a loss of circulation in the middle finger of his pitching hand. [Personal disclosure: I have had the same problem, but on my left hand, over the last few days. The circulation is slowly returning.] Parnell, at least, is on a rehab assignment and will return in a few days.

But when you consider the tidal wave of injuries to star players like Reyes, Santana, Bay, and Carlos Beltran since Citi Field opened in 2009, and you wonder if there's a curse attached to the stadium. What if some disgruntled fan didn't like the idea of the Mets shutting down Shea Stadium and opening a new park? Hey, stranger things have been known to have either happened or been made the stuff of legend.

Can the Mets overcome this injury jinx? Of course, but only by focusing on the immediate job at hand, playing ball, and not worrying about the tabloid media taking every minor issue and blowing it out of proportion. It can be done. As the late Tug McGraw declared during their 1973 pennant run, "ya gotta believe". Nearly 40 years later, that still applies. ]]> hobbyfan http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/1151-The-curse-of-Citi-Field http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/1104-History-s-the-real-winner Sun, 06 Feb 2011 20:09:10 GMT Later tonight, the Green Bay Packers & Pittsburgh Steelers, with 9 Super Bowl titles between them, will meet in Arlington, Texas in Super Bowl 45. The dynasty of the 60's vs. the dynasty of the 70's. You could not script the development of this game any better than fate did.

Aaron Rodgers is simply the hottest QB left in the tournament. His Packers have bounced three division winners (Chicago beat NFC West champ Seattle) en route to the "Big Game". So what if they lost star running back Ryan Grant in the first week? That opened the door for James Starks, a rookie out of the University of Buffalo, to break out during the playoffs. Defenses have keyed on veteran wideouts Donald Driver & Greg Jennings, but Pittsburgh will have to pay attention to Starks as well.

For Ben Roethlisberger, it is about vindication. It isn't so much about his 3rd trip to the Super Bowl in 7 seasons, but rather having fully redeemed himself in the eyes of the media after the off-field drama that led to his being suspended for the first month of the season. They couldn't prove that he actually had done anything to some college co-ed in a Georgia bar, and you can be sure Steeler loyalists have dismissed the young lady as another gold digger crying wolf. Again, we don't know the whole story either way, and it will be a non-issue as the game progresses.

On defense, the teams are about even. The hype has been more about the two guys with the hair, Green Bay's 2nd year star Clay Matthews, Jr., who just signed an endorsement deal with Unilever (Suave shampoo), and Pittsburgh's Troy Polamalu (Head & Shoulders), two former USC stars going mano-a-mano. Both will factor into the final result of the game, I'm sure.

In the end, though, it will come down to the intangibles. Roethlisberger and the Steelers have been there before, most recently dismissing Arizona just a couple of years ago. They will talk at length about the lockout that could be in effect come March 3 if the NFL owners and the players association don't come to an agreement. They'd all be fools if they go through with the lockout, IMPO. This could be the last game we'll see for a while, unless the UFL, assuming it returns for a 3rd season, takes advantage, but they're a short-season league, starving for attention.

My pick: Pittsburgh 42, Green Bay, 38. ]]> hobbyfan http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/1104-History-s-the-real-winner http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/1084-Cinderella-s-wearing-green-this-year Mon, 17 Jan 2011 01:15:13 GMT "When you think you've got all the answers, I change the questions!"---Roddy Piper, sometime in the 1980's.

Piper's snarky, often arrogant take is an apt way of describing the NFL playoffs these last two weekends. As we move to the conference championship round next Sunday, both #1 seeds have been eliminated in excruciating fashion. The #2 seeds in both conferences will host the championship games, and it's entirely possible that Cinderella's dress for the Super Bowl on February 6 will have some green in it.

Start with the NFC. The Green Bay Packers have played second fiddle to the Chicago Bears all season, but after dispatching top-ranked Atlanta with surprising ease Saturday night, the Pack will head to Chicago, where Da Bears dismissed Seattle in what could be considered traditional playoff conditions. It snowed in Chi-town, and, more than anything, coach Lovie Smith might want to give someone at the National Weather Service a game ball. Just 3 plays into the game, Chicago was up, 7-0, and never looked back. Oh, Seattle made a game of it with some garbage time touchdowns in the 4th quarter, but by then the game was decided.

Packers-Bears III will be the ultimate throwback game, especially if it's really cold and more snow is in the forecast. It's not just "Bear weather", as they used to say, but it's old school NFL weather.

The same thing could be said of the AFC title game. Pittsburgh beat Baltimore on Saturday, and waited to see if they'd have to travel to Foxboro again to play the hated Patriots. The New York Jets had other ideas.

Having already avenged a loss in the title game last year to Indianapolis by dismissing Peyton Manning and and the Colts 8 days ago, the Jets, with the NYC tabloid media whipping the city into a frenzy, collected another receipt, this one for a 45-3 demolition at the hands of the Patriots last month, eliminating New England, 28-21. New England scored with under a minute to go for the final margin, but couldn't recover an onside kick. For the 2nd year in a row, the Patriots lost at home in the playoffs, proving that they are not invincible after all. Maybe coach Bill Belichick should give up trying to emulate the CIA and coach up his team the way everyone else does, because that'll be the only way anyone ever gives him and the Patriots any respect.

Worse for New England was an article in today's New York Daily News in which former QB Steve Grogan, who was on the losing end of a Super Bowl beatdown at the hands of Da Bears 25 years ago, claimed Belichick doesn't want the current Pats meeting former players such as Grogan. Jets coach Rex Ryan, whose father, Buddy, was the defensive genius for those Bears, brought in an ex-Jet, Dennis Byrd, for a pre-game pep talk. Y'think maybe Belichick should take the hint next time? Probably, but unlikely.

However, going into the AFC title game, it is Pittsburgh looking for payback. The Jets beat them during the regular season, though it would've gone the other way if 1) the refs bothered to call defensive interference on the Jets or 2) Ben Roethlisberger had completed at least one pass in the end zone in the final minute.

Both of next week's games are going to be tough to pick right now. It would make great theatre, however, if the 2 #6 seeds, the Jets & Packers, were to meet. Any combination coming out of next Sunday, though, be it Steelers-Packers, Steelers-Bears, Jets-Bears, or Jets-Packers, is sure to deliver plenty of thrills that first weekend in February.

When Buddy Ryan was hired as the coach of the Arizona Cardinals several years ago, he declared that he was a winner, but wasn't. Son Rex, however, could not only make the same claim in just his 2nd season, but make it the truth. The worst that could happen, though, would be if Cinderella's ticket to the big dance was lost, and the pumpkin coach was turned to pie before it was ready. We'll all have to wait & see. ]]> hobbyfan http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/1084-Cinderella-s-wearing-green-this-year http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/983-An-idiot-with-power-is-a-dangerous-thing Thu, 12 Aug 2010 03:02:58 GMT James Dolan, chairman of Cablevision, the 2nd largest cable provider in New York, also owns the New York Rangers (NHL) & Knicks (NBA) and their home arena, Madison Square Garden. However, if you believe the press in New York, Dolan has also inherited some of the late George Steinbrenner's old, bad habits.

Consider the plight of Knicks President Don Walsh, for example. Walsh, who built the Indiana Pacers into a playoff contender during the 90's, was hired in 2008 to replace Isaiah Thomas after the former All-Star resigned in disgrace over accusations of sexual harassment, now has to look over his shoulder now that Thomas, while still head coach at Florida International, has been brought back by Dolan to serve as a consultant. What? Has Dolan been watching Friday Night Smackdown lately?

For those who don't follow the WWE's secondary show, former GM Vickie Guerrero was rehired by Chairman/CEO Vince McMahon last fall to act as a "consultant" to GM Theodore Long, knowing that if anything were to happen to Long, Mrs. Guerrero would take over. Even the slightest amount of power is abused. As the old saying goes, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Dolan being the big kahuna with both the Knicks & the Rangers illustrates this point to a tee.

While the Rangers have been a playoff contender every season, though not always advancing to the playoffs, the Knicks have been on the outside looking in. During Thomas' disastrous run as GM & Coach, he & Dolan overspent on veteran free agents, leaving the Knicks unable to sign more quality players that could've helped the team. Thomas was, in every respect, the public face of the team while Dolan tried to forge a second career as a musician, playing in a garage band that few might actually have heard of. His dismissal in 2008 stained the reputation of a once-proud superstar who helped Detroit to 2 NBA titles in the early 90's. As was discussed earlier today on ESPN's Around the Horn, Thomas might actually be in violation of NBA guidelines just by keeping his college job. Dolan doesn't seem to care, much less understand. He wanted Walsh to hire Thomas as a GM. Walsh refused, but settled on making Thomas a consultant instead. Hmmmmm. Wasn't Brutus a consultant to Julius Caesar before the Ides of March?

Bottom line is, Dolan is setting Walsh up to fail, so he can elevate Thomas into the President's office and rubber stamp everything Dolan wants done. The Knicks are better off if someone comes along with a megabucks deal to buy the team, along with the Garden and the Rangers, away from the clueless martinet currently signing their paychecks. You know that if/when Dolan does pull the trigger to fire Walsh, he'll use the failure to bring LeBron James to New York as one of his many excuses. You know it, I know it, and you better believe Walsh and the New York press knows it. Making Dolan a Weasel of the Week would be too easy. Giving him a lifetime membership at the Jabroni Athletic Club makes more sense. If he actually spends time in a gym and gets to know his players and understands exactly what the team really needs, he might actually get somewhere. Like, sometime next decade.

[The preceding was originally written on my other blog, "The Land of Whatever".] ]]> hobbyfan http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/983-An-idiot-with-power-is-a-dangerous-thing http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/962-Even-umpires-need-sunglasses Mon, 19 Jul 2010 20:06:03 GMT Umpires have been stereotyped as nearsighted and/or overly sensitive to criticism, deserved or otherwise. Sunday's Giants-Mets game in San Francisco presented more evidence that the boys in blue need a little visual aid to get the calls right, and I don't mean replay.

In the home 9th, plate umpire Phil Cuzzi called a ball when it should've been a strike. Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez nearly went ballistic. Catcher Henry Blanco & manager Jerry Manuel did their best to protect K-Rod, who ultimately blew the save (5th blown save), but got the win in the 10th.

In many respects, the 10th inning might not have happened if not for Cuzzi giving the Mets a make-good call, calling Travis Ishikawa out at home when he clearly beat the tag by Blanco.

Exacerbating the situation was a phantom foul call by 3rd base ump Mike Estabrook on a nubbler hit by Aubrey Huff. Replays clearly showed that the ball barely left the plate, and was fair. Blanco alertly completed the play, only to have it nullified by Estabrook's mis-call.

I'm not sure if an ump can wear sunglasses or any eyewear under his mask, but a base umpire should, just as the players do. It would scale back the number of blown calls, especially in day games. A pair of shades would make the picture a little bit clearer for the arbiters to make the right calls.

Would things have been different had Cuzzi called a strike instead of a ball when this all started? Maybe, but we'll never know for sure. What we do know is instead of a knee-jerk call for instant replay erupting yet again, maybe MLB should be in contact with one of the vision chain stores....... ]]> hobbyfan http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/962-Even-umpires-need-sunglasses http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/949-The-quot-King-quot-is-a-fraud Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:00:58 GMT LeBron James has made two mistakes in his playing career.

The first was turning pro right after high school, because despite all the enormous talent he possesses, he wasn't a complete player just yet. The last 7 seasons spent in Cleveland, a virtual hop, skip, & jump from his hometown of Akron, represented on-the-job training. Yes, the Cavaliers made the finals once in those 7 years, turning the corner toward shedding the "loser" label once and for all, but they didn't get the brass ring. Had James gone to college for at least two years, not one, as some of today's so-called prodigies do, he might've been better prepared for the pro game. His problem was listening to the power brokers like Nike, promising him the moon and the stars, making him rich beyond his wildest dreams.

The second mistake was letting that inner circle expand with more bandwagon jumping leeches and hangers-on eager for a piece of the action. James dumped his first agent, Aaron Goodwin, in favor of Leon Rose, and picked up some nothing happening jabroni named Maverick Brown as a business manager. It's people like Brown who are in part responsible for turning the free agent season of 2010 into a circus more befitting professional wrestling, putting the idea in James' head that they needed to milk this for more than it was really worth.

Did James really need to have ESPN give him an hour of prime-time, with the proceeds benefiting the Boys & Girls Clubs of America? No. Ex-ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith had it right a week and a half ago, and it took James 10 days to confirm it, with all the additional bells & whistles to supposedly massage his ego, but it's more for the gratification of Brown and the rest of the leeches. James is a wrestling fan, and has been seen on-camera on WWE Raw several times. He knew how to milk the drama, but in the end it was amounting to a world class cop-out.

James is joining Chris Bosh & Dwyane Wade in Miami. Lah-de-freakin'-dah!!!! Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert is upset, and understandably so. The New York tabloids splashed James' face on the front pages this morning, trashing him for destroying the dreams of Nets & Knicks fans. Heat President and on-again-off-again coach Pat Riley has been accused of screwing the Knicks again (he quit as Knicks coach via fax once upon a full moon). What it comes down to is James & Bosh listening to their agents giving them a bunch of BS. If James couldn't win a title in Cleveland in 7 seasons, regardless of who he had surrounding him, like Shaquille O'Neal last season, for example, what makes him think things will be different in Miami? They've won exactly one championship.

Did I watch the dog & pony show last night? Hell, no! I had better things to do, but I do know when the NBA fans are being rooked from border to border. James' reputation has been tarnished permanently, regardless of how much charity work he's done, because he's been cast as just another me-first superstar, but far worse than people like Michael Jordan & Kobe Bryant, whose talent has been overshadowed by accusations of preferential treatment from referees (likely at the request of corporate sponsors), enabling them to win their championships. Neither Jordan nor Bryant nor any other superstar, like O'Neal, for another example, needed a forum like this. Tiger Woods' press conference was big news because of the scandal that soiled his image, but that was it. He didn't ask for the air time. It was just standard business.

Will James get his coveted championship in Miami? No, I don't think he will, unless the NBA wills it to be so. And that's the scary part, because it could happen. ]]> hobbyfan http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/949-The-quot-King-quot-is-a-fraud http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/890-A-fragile-pitcher-s-psyche-isn-t-confined-to-the-Bronx Tue, 11 May 2010 15:39:58 GMT The New York tabloids have taken the Yankees to task for bringing back pitcher Javier Vazquez, despite the fact that his first tour of duty in the Bronx wasn't so great in 2004, ending when he lost the deciding game in the ALCS to Boston. But after a stellar 2009 campaign in Atlanta, someone convinced GM Brian Cashman to bring Vazquez back for a 2nd go-round, at the expense of outfielder Melky Cabrera, who's been up & down in the first few weeks of the season playing in the NL.

So far, the returns on Vazquez haven't been too good, either. He's been booed at home, and was intentionally passed over in the weekend series in Boston. He goes tonight in Detroit against the Tigers, and the Daily News put Vazquez on their back page this morning, wondering what it would take to get him back on track, regaining the form he had with the Braves.

Vazquez isn't the only NY pitcher whose mindset needs to be called into question, however. Across town, Mets fans might be wondering why their team even bothered to let Scott "20 Mule Team" Boras con them into re-signing Oliver Perez last year when they could've cut him and held onto Pedro Martinez.

Perez walked 7 in 3 1/3 innings vs. San Francisco on Mother's Day, but was lucky to escape with a No Decision as the Mets rallied to take a lead late, only to see it slip away on an Aaron Rowand homer in the visiting 8th. Perez blamed the cold. The Mets should've remembered that he has had bad games in those conditions before at home, including a pre-season game against Boston last year, which I'd wrote about before. Perez is 0-2, virtually back to the luckless pitcher he was when the Mets got him from Pittsburgh at the trade deadline 4 years ago. Why the Mets kept him and not Martinez remains a mystery a year later.

Martinez is out there, looking for work. If the Mets really want to be players in the NL East, they need to just swallow the remainder of Perez's contract and bring back Pedro, who got a hero's welcome when he returned to Boston opening night for pre-game ceremonies before the 1st match vs. the Yankees. Imagine the ovation he'd get at Citi Field if he returns to the orange & blue he wore from 2005-08.

Clearly, Vazquez & Perez would be well served to ply their trade elsewhere. I can envision the Mets shipping "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Perez" off to either Oakland, Texas (where Boras probably isn't well liked, either), or Anaheim. Vazquez? Maybe he should ask Ed Whitson for advice before his next career move. Whitson was the poster child for fragile moundsmen in the 80's, playing for the Yankees, but he eventually flourished elsewhere. Vazquez pitched admirably in Chicago & Atlanta, and it was assumed he was over his '04 struggles. But there's something about Yankee Stadium, regardless of which one it is, and the microscopic scrutiny that goes with playing there, that does near-irrevocable damage to a pitcher's health.

Hmmm. I wonder if Boras isn't misrepresenting Vazquez, too. I wouldn't be at all surprised. ]]> hobbyfan http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/890-A-fragile-pitcher-s-psyche-isn-t-confined-to-the-Bronx http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/873-The-Reincarnation-of-Kenesaw-Landis Sat, 24 Apr 2010 18:39:51 GMT Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis was Commissioner of Major League Baseball way back in the day, and was as hard-line in meting out punishment, most famously the 1919 Chicago Black Sox scandal, depicted... Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis was Commissioner of Major League Baseball way back in the day, and was as hard-line in meting out punishment, most famously the 1919 Chicago Black Sox scandal, depicted in the movie, "Eight Men Out". Today, current MLB Commissioner Allan "Bud" Selig is the antithesis of Landis, softer than a bag of marshmallows and slower to act than snails & turtles combined.

In this day and age, however, the spirit of Landis has re-emerged, but in football, embodied in current NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Consider what has happened recently. The Pittsburgh Steelers, 14 months removed from their 6th Super Bowl victory, traded MVP Santonio Holmes to the New York Jets for draft picks after Holmes had gotten himself in trouble with the law. The ink had barely been dry on news of the trade when Goodell announced that Holmes would miss the first 4 games of the 2010 season for violating the personal conduct policy enforced by the league. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been accused twice in the last year of sexual assault in two different places by two different women, and while no charges have formally been filed, but Goodell took action anyway, slapping Roethlisberger with a 6 game ban. Steelers management's immediate response was to announce that they would listen to trade offers for their star QB. So far, no takers. The Jets obtained Holmes before his suspension was announced. With Roethlisberger's suspension already made public the day before the draft, teams aren't willing to take a chance, knowing they won't have him for the first month and a half of the season.

On Friday, Goodell announced that he would revisit the Roethlisberger case and add to the suspension if it comes out that there are other violations. Conversely, when he meted out the ban on Wednesday, Goodell stated that if Roethlisberger maintained good behavior, the ban would be reduced to 4 games. You can bet that there are some amateur camera jocks looking for a quick payday willing to stick it to Roethlisberger if at all possible just because they're not Steeler fans. To that end, Roethlisberger would be well served to stay away from strangers with camera phones.

When the ban was announced Wednesday, the discussion on ESPN's "Around the Horn" centered on whether or not the Steelers would actually be a playoff team without Roethlisberger. Please. Pittsburgh brings back Byron Leftwich as an insurance policy, competing with Charlie Batch and Dennis Dixon for the starter pro tempore job in camp this summer. Holmes is gone, and so is running back Willie Parker. Depending on how well the Steelers fare in the draft, it might not be a problem after all.

Before last season, the Cincinnati Bengals were the AFC North's answer to "America's Most Wanted" with all their legal hassles, but who'd think to associate the Steelers with such issues? That's why they've traded Holmes and are shopping Roethlisberger. The team has an image to protect. Too bad Holmes & Roethlisberger fractured the perception of that image, almost irrevocably. Star athletes today think they're above scrutiny. Goodell is teaching them as sternly as possible that the perception needs to change, and that because of their profession, they have to be held accountable on and off the field. To that end, more power to him. ]]> hobbyfan http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/873-The-Reincarnation-of-Kenesaw-Landis http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/809-It-s-not-the-same-as-it-ever-was Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:22:37 GMT The media can waste as much time as they want speculating on when Tiger Woods will return to the PGA Tour, but they must also learn to respect the fact that the man needs to get his life completely... The media can waste as much time as they want speculating on when Tiger Woods will return to the PGA Tour, but they must also learn to respect the fact that the man needs to get his life completely back in order before he does.

When Tiger does return, however, he will be under the microscope more than ever. The dog & pony show disguised as a press conference a couple of weeks back exposed Tiger as a bit of a hypocrite. He admitted he made a mistake thinking that he could live by a separate set of rules just because of his superstar status, but at the same time, that press conference was a controlled environment, open to only those media types that Tiger and his flacks felt they could trust. You can't have it both ways, champ. Once you get back out on the course, you have to prove yourself to your peers all over again. They won't give you a free pass this time.

The worst case scenario for Woods is to follow the lead of John Daly, who now has a reality series on the Golf Channel. Does Woods really want to end up like Daly, who let his talent be overridden by vices (alcohol, in particular), then having to pay penance by baring his soul for all the world to see (and getting paid for it)? You want to hope the answer is "no".

In pro wrestling, there are those who are unwilling to let the past fade away, but rather relive it as often as possible. Vince McMahon has made it an art form, but he has fallen into a rut. Anyone that follows WWE knows what's going to happen on 3/8, when McMahon is scheduled to compete against a man half his age, John Cena. McMahon will make a last-second change and make the match no-DQ, enabling current WWE champ Dave Batista to interfere freely, allowing McMahon a cheap, lazy pinfall win. We've seen this scenario play out way too often in recent years, largely because McMahon is a mark for his own spotlight, like so many others.

In Orlando, Hulk Hogan will lace up the boots one more time to team with Abyss vs. ancient foe Ric Flair & AJ Styles as TNA Impact moves to Mondays, largely at the behest of Hogan & Eric Bischoff, who want to relive the mid-to-late-90's glory days of WCW, when they beat Monday Night Raw for a year and a half in the ratings. Problem is, Hogan is nearly 60. Flair is already there. They're occupying spots in a key match that should go to younger, hungrier talent. However, they can't help themselves.

TNA wants to forge its own identity, but how can it when they keep bringing in people like Hogan & Flair, who made their fame elsewhere, and creative people like Bischoff and Vince Russo would rather recreate the last years of WCW (at least Bischoff is aiming a wee bit higher)? WWE suits, particularly McMahon, can publicly say they're not worried now, but they need to remember how fickle fans can be, especially when they have a remote control in their hands.

This time, the Monday Night War will be one-sided, and it will be TNA's downfall, because they're reaching too high too soon. And they only have themselves to blame for listening to the wrong people virtually from day one. ]]> hobbyfan http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/809-It-s-not-the-same-as-it-ever-was http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/740-And-so-the-merry-go-round-spins Thu, 14 Jan 2010 20:34:44 GMT On Monday, Pete Carroll resigned as coach of the University of Southern California (USC) to return to the NFL as coach of the Seattle Seahawks, hoping to restore some credibility to that franchise... On Monday, Pete Carroll resigned as coach of the University of Southern California (USC) to return to the NFL as coach of the Seattle Seahawks, hoping to restore some credibility to that franchise after Seattle went 5-11 in 2009.

The ink was barely dry on Carroll's contract when USC chose his replacement. Lane Kiffin, a former Carroll assistant, bolted Tennessee to return to Cali, this after doing what most of these modern day vagabond coaches do, make promises to his recruits that he knew he might not be able to keep. Kiffin spent a year and a half working for the Vince McMahon of the NFL, Al Davis, in Oakland, and all he proved was that he wasn't quite as ready to be a head coach as he thought he was.

Kiffin got himself in major trouble early at Tennessee, and I'd not be surprised if the NCAA took as long a look at Kiffin's body of work there while investigating the assorted scandals at USC. Meanwhile, Tennessee named newly hired assistant Kippy Brown as interim coach. Kiffin had just brought Brown onto his staff a month ago. Tennessee has also reached out to former coach Phil Fulmer to return, but this time as athletic director. Fulmer retired following the 2008 season, not knowing what kind of circus would follow.

All of this makes the Texas Tech coaching situation tame by comparison. After dismissing Mike Leach, TT brought in former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville to be the new coach. This news ends up getting swept under the headline rug in the wake of Carroll & Kiffin's relocations.

Carroll, though, could be considered a rat leaving a sinking ship, given the investigation into the usual wrong-doing involving boosters and star players (in this case, Reggie Bush & Joe McKnight). What if USC is forced to go on probation in not one, but two sports (also facing an inquiry into the basketball program)? After all the success Carroll had in 9 seasons at USC (2001-09), it could all come a'cropper.

And, then, again, there is Kiffin. As I noted earlier, he ran into trouble in the SEC before the '09 season began, and that could put a crimp into Tennessee's immediate future. He's really walking from one hornet's nest into another. Not good as far as career moves go.

Will this ever end? Unfortunately, no, as long as this generation of vagabonds continue to chase the money and put ego above morals and common sense. ]]> hobbyfan http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/740-And-so-the-merry-go-round-spins http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/717-And-then-there-were-12 Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:34:01 GMT The NFL playoffs begin on Saturday, and three of the four Wild Card games this weekend are rematches from Week 17. Talk about instant turnarounds! Let's look at the seedings in each conference first:

AFC:

1. Indianapolis
2. San Diego
3. New England
4. Cincinnati
5. New York Jets
6. Baltimore

NFC:

1. New Orleans
2. Minnesota
3. Dallas
4. Arizona
5. Green Bay
6. Philadelphia

One big question come Saturday is whether or not any momentum gained the previous week can be sustained. I don't really think that's the case.

AFC: Cincinnati over Jets
Baltimore over New England

Yes, there will be an upset in the 1st round. The Patriots lost Wes Welker for the season with a knee injury vs. Houston, and that means the Ravens defense will double-team Randy Moss, because after Moss & Welker, who do the Pats have as a go-to receiver? Jabar Gaffney, who was clutch 2 years ago, is not there now. The Bengals, like the Colts a week earlier, conceded to the Jets by resting their starters, and got 0 out of Chad Ochocinco. That won't be the case when they return to Ohio.

NFC: Dallas over Philadelphia
Green Bay over Arizona

They say familiarity breeds contempt. The familiarity of playing two games in a row on the same field won't change the results. The Eagles saw their 6 game win streak snapped in Arlington vs. the resurgent Cowboys, and their luck isn't going to change in 6 days. Arizona has been hot & cold the last few weeks, and, knowing they were locked into the 4 slot, played like they were a lower seed in getting thumped. They're not going to sneak up on anyone this time. One and done.

Divisional round:

AFC: Indianapolis over Baltimore
San Diego over Cincinnati
NFC: Green Bay over New Orleans
Minnesota over Dallas

Conference Championships:

AFC: Indianapolis over San Diego
NFC: Minnesota over Green Bay

Super Bowl: Minnesota over Indianapolis. Brett Favre gets one more ring, then starts the whole drama about retiring/not retiring. Again.

We'll see if I'm right about a month from now. ]]> hobbyfan http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/717-And-then-there-were-12 http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/708-Good-thing-he-isn-t-a-doctor Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:48:17 GMT With the Alamo Bowl days away, Texas Tech decided to divest itself of head coach Mike Leach today, two days after suspending Leach for some questionable disciplinary tactics. As you probably know... With the Alamo Bowl days away, Texas Tech decided to divest itself of head coach Mike Leach today, two days after suspending Leach for some questionable disciplinary tactics.

As you probably know by now, Texas Tech wide receiver Adam James, son of former SMU/NFL star and current ESPN game analyst Craig James, had suffered a concussion earlier this season, but reportedly was kept confined to a darkened, enclosed room. That is no way to treat someone recovering from a concussion! Who gave Leach a license to practice medicine? Lucy Van Pelt? Beavis & Butt-Head? If Leach was trying to prevent James from suffering the effects of Post Concussion Syndrome (PCS), it was an epic fail!

ESPN, naturally, has given the elder James an opportunity to state his case, not as an ESPN employee, but as a concerned parent. With all the concerns about concussions in general now, Leach, embracing the "mad scientist" label the media foisted on him during a 11-2 campaign in '08, came off as deluded and misguided as the stereotypical scientists we see in the movies.

Clearly, Texas Tech's medical staff should've taken complete control of Adam James' case, not leaving any sort of opening for Mike Leach's backwoods medical treatments. For all the use of the phrase "institutional control" when a school is placed on probation for recruiting violations, this was a clear-cut case where that control wasn't in effect. By getting rid of Leach and his megabucks contract extension signed back in February, Texas Tech now puts itself in a position to wipe the slate clean and start over. Leach, however, will find it hard to find another head coaching job after this episode. He turned down offers from other schools to stay at Tech, and now he winds up a pariah. What was he trying to do? Remake "The Junction Boys" (ESPN's movie bio of Hall of Fame coach Paul "Bear" Bryant)?

A year ago, Mike Leach was hailed as a hero in Lubbock after Texas Tech upset Texas on national television. Yes, the Longhorns collected a receipt earlier this year, and now reality has collected one on Leach. ]]> hobbyfan http://www.sportscardforum.com/entries/708-Good-thing-he-isn-t-a-doctor