Sports Blog

I read with great interest, one of Jim Caple’s recent articles on ESPN’s web site. Jim is one of the writers with the honour of casting a vote to decide who gets into the Baseball Hall of Fame. And next year’s ballot will include Mark McGwire.

Read full text of Mark McGwire… --- Just Answer The Question....

At what point in Sports – Amateur or Professional – am I supposed to look the other way when athletes cheat?

I have a message for the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, and All Amateur Sports programs – cheating is not okay. It is not okay to continue moving the line because a certain amount of cheating is expected. At the risk of sounding self-righteous, what message are we sending kids who watch these sports? And what kind of a sham am I wasting my time watching?

If Kenny Rogers had a foreign substance on his hand in Game 2 of the World Series, then he should have been kicked out of the game and out of the Series. That substance didn’t look like dirt – and was washed off pretty quickly. And why didn’t Tony La Russa have a hairy fit over the whole incident? Is it because his pitchers are just as guilty of using some form of illegal means to get an edge? Is there an unwritten code in Major League Baseball that a certain amount of cheating is acceptable and expected? This is the World Series! Shouldn’t umpires be even more vigilant to ensure cheaters don’t prosper?

Read full text of Kenny Rogers Isn’t The Only Cheater ...

When the players stop responding - and just plain stop listening - it’s time to go. When Ed Snider promised “more changes” after the Philadelphia Flyers were thumped 9-1 by the Buffalo Sabres last Tuesday, there was speculation Ken Hitchcock would be out. I didn’t expect the departure of Bobby Clarke as well. The official line is he resigned. If so, I guess he saw the writing on the wall. There really was no way out this season - considering the Flyers 1-6-1 start.

One major shortcoming that will always follow Bobby Clarke around was his inability to ever snag a top-notch Goaltender - a major reason the team failed in their most recent trip to the Stanley Cup final in 1997. Also a major factor in their round one loss to the Sabres in last year’s playoffs.

Read full text of Ken Hitchcock and Bob Clarke Gone - And The End Of An Era...

Where will this Game 7 rank all time? It will be up there will classics like the 1991 Jack Morris triumph. Game 7 – just the words make your heart beat faster.

Last night’s game had it all. You want pitching? Jeff Suppan was masterful. You want defense? The Endy Chavez home-run rob will be on highlight reels for years to come. You want a Cinderella ending? OK – let’s choose Yadier Molina - a .216 hitter - to be the hero – one sweet swing for the ages!

And finally, let’s give the home town New York Mets one last chance by loading the bases against a kid with a grand total of 6 saves in the regular and post-season combined. And, just to rub it in a little, let’s give this kid, Adam Wainwright, one last batter to face; and let’s make that batter a horse - Carlos Beltran. Did you really think the kid could do it? No way. But he did – he threw the perfect 0-2 curve ball and Beltran just stood there – frozen…And that was it. Thud.

Read full text of Game 7 Magic is an October Pennant Classic!...

…that the now 6-0 Buffalo Sabres blew out the Philadelphia Flyers 9-1 on home ice last night wearing their original retro jersey from 1971. Hey Sabres Management – listen to your fans – bring the retro back for good!

If you didn’t catch the October 15th 60 Minutes interview with Bill Romanowski, you missed a very honest, candid look inside the pressure-packed, oftentimes violent world of the NFL. “Romo” as many of you know him, has retired after 16 years and 4 super bowls.

And although he never missed a game, the physicality with which he played football resulted, in his estimation, in somewhere between 8 and 20 concussions. And he never missed a game.

In his new book, “Romo: My Life On The Edge”, he confesses to using anabolic steroids (THG) and human growth hormone from 2001 to 2003. His supplier? -- None other than Victor Conte of BALCO fame (Bay Area Lab Cooperative). The same Victor Conte who supplied drugs to the likes of Tim Montgomery, Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds.

Read full text of What Will The NFL Learn From Bill Romanowski?...

Is there anything more fitting than a walk-off homer for the Detroit
Tigers to clinch the American League Championship series? Nothing
rattled this team. If there were concerns that they couldn't come from
behind, those concerns were put to rest Saturday night when they erased
a 2-0 Oakland lead. Now they get a week to rest up for their World
Series opponent. They will also don an unfamiliar role - they are no
longer the underdogs. And, due to a stupid Major League Baseball
decision, they automatically get home field advantage because the
American League team won the All-Star Game this year. I've never
agreed with this MLB twist - don't see the relevance of basing home
field advantage in the World Series on an exhibition meeting like the
All-Star Game. Nevertheless, the Tigers will now try to do what the
Yankees and the Athletics couldn't - win a series with so-called home
field advantage. What they must do is win both home games. If they
split these first 2 games, they give the advantage back. And we have
seen how that turns out.

My early prediction? Even though the New York Mets won last night in a
blow-out, I still think the St. Louis Cardinals will prevail. And I
think the Tigers will win the World Series. But, they'll have to win
the first two games at home to do it. They have a much better chance
of winning 2 of 3 on the road. A 3-game sweep on the road in the World
Series is a very high mountain to climb - even for the upstart Detroit
Tigers. If the Series goes to a 6th game, it will probably go 7. The
2006 Tigers are capable of just about anything - and destiny is on
their side...I just wish they were starting on the road.

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Ssshhhh - Don't tell the Underdog Detroit Tigers - but they are three wins away from a World Series appearance. This team just makes me smile. Last night, Barry Zito is plugging along, retires the first eight Tigers he faces, and then, wham, he's pulled after 10 of the next 13 Tigers reach base. Just another day at the ballpark for the 2006 Detroit Tigers. I don't care who they face in the World Series, I just hope they get there.

The playoff format is so interesting. And it's the same in all pro sports. You name it - football, hockey, baseball - the team with the best record gets to start at home - something that should be an advantage. I think the rule should be changed - the team with the winning record should get to decide whether or not they start on the road or at home. A split in the first 2 games is an advantage in games 3 and 4. Your top 2 pitchers shouldn't care if they pitch at home or not. I know, it's about last ups, too. But ask the New York Yankees if, in hindsight, they might have had a better fate had they started on the road. We'll never know. But what we do know is that there is usually a lot of pressure playing at home. Which brings me to my next point. Is it me, or do the Detroit Tigers even know they are in the post season? I really haven't noticed the heavy weight that starts to descend on a team trying to win a series. I did notice it in the New York Yankees and it was definitely apparent in the Oakland Athletics last night. But what's with the Tigers? Time will tell - but in the meantime, don't anybody say anything.

A couple of quick comments. Credit where credit is due. It seems George Steinbrenner agreed with me and decided to keep Joe Torre - good move, George. As I said yesterday, Joe Torre isn't the problem. Even Steinbrenner has trouble handing someone $7 million to go away. And no, there won't be an extension to the contract. So, now what?

Interesting comments by General Manager Brian Cashman about Alex Rodriguez. When asked about A-Rod's status, he replied "I fully expect him to be here. We're going to figure this thing out together". Fully expect? Figure what out? Huh? Okay - reading between the lines, moving A-Rod and his contract is not completely out of the picture. The no-trade clause is also obviously another big problem. Let's face it, life in New York for A-Rod must be borderline miserable right now. He would be smart to give Brian Cashman a list of teams he would consider moving to. And then get on with his life. That's if he can admit to himself that things in New York will never work out for him. What were those stats again? .290; 35 home runs; 24 (ouch) errors and .071 (OUCH) in the post season against that team from Tigertown. (By the way, A-Rod's stats in his last 12 post-season appearances? 4-41, no RBIs and an ugly .098). Joe Torre was criticized for moving him to 8th in the batting lineup. Rodriguez is lucky he got an at-bat. The Yankees are on the hook for $15,900,000 of A-Rod's $23,000,000 due in 2007. George will be willing to pay a big portion just to unload this contract.

And, finally, we all know that George Steinbrenner has new, bigger fish to fry. George needs pitching. Who doesn't? And he will hotly pursue negotiating rights to Daisuke Matsuzaka, MVP for the World Baseball Classic. Matsuzaka and the Seibu Lions will command big bucks. And George will be right there with the vault open. And what about other potential signings for the Yankees? Any interest in Barry Zito? What about Jason Schmidt? They already have Mike Mussina and I'm sure they want to keep him. Yes, many more ways for George to spend money. And spend he will. George will be spending a lot of time with Scott Boras in the off season - agent to Alex Rodriguez and, in all likelihood, the same agent for Daisuke Matsuzaka.

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George Steinbrenner is about to fire Joe Torre (unless he walks away
first), But Steinbrenner better do a lot more than that. He’s fixing
the one thing that isn’t broken.

George Steinbrenner is missing the obvious fact about his team - the
pitching staff was hanging on by a thread all season and his overpaid
prima donna, Alex Rodriguez, never lived up to expectations.

Reggie Jackson, the ultimate prima donna, said it best. When asked to
comment about Joe Torre, he responded "It seems like the great job he
was doing all year, all that's forgotten. I imagine you could blame a
guy for making bad moves, but I don't know how you can blame a guy for
the team going 20 innings in a row without scoring a run."

Ironically, last week everyone was talking about a possible subway
series. The sudden implosion of Yankee bats does not rest solely on
the shoulders of Joe Torre. And it will take more than a coaching
change (and there will probably be a GM change too) to fix the Yankees.

They’re old. Everyday it was an adventure between the white lines
and the glue that held this piece of work together was Joe Torre. In his
11-year stint as Yankee Manager, he’s taken the Yankees to the playoffs
every year. And he’s won 4 World Series at the helm. His overall
record is 1079 and 699. Not Shabby - and Joe is not the problem.

Sure, George - bring in Lou Piniella. His aggressive and, at times,
explosive style might be what the overpaid, lazy Yankees need. One
thing I know for sure - it won’t be dull in the New York Zoo.

Of course, throwing more money at the problem won’t phase George
Steinbrenner either. What ‘s another 20 million or so when you’re in
the $200 million ballpark anyway.

The New York Yankees need pitching - Mike Mussina and Gary Sheffield
are both eligible for free agency. Aside from Derek Jeter and Jorge
Posada, the Yankee bats hit a dismal .173 in the Division Series.

And fielding errors? A-Rod had 24 errors all by himself this season.

A lot needs fixing in New York . But is firing the Manager really the
place to start?

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Watching the Detroit Tigers dismantle the mighty Bronx Bombers
yesterday was sweet!
And baseball, being the statistical wonder it is, proved once again
that great pitching does indeed beat great hitting - Although the New
York Yankees failed to show any signs of their season dominance in
hitting during the wild card series with the Detroit Tigers.

There were so many stories - where to start?

First of all, without the Wild Card format, Saturday’s game wound not
have happened. We need more teams in the playoffs. This was exciting.
And the season would have been more exciting if more teams had a shot
- more playoff spots, more shots - more excitement. You see, in
sports, anything really can happen.

Next - payroll. I won’t harp on this. But it is always satisfying to
see the Corporate, exclusive gated community we call the New York
Yankees go down in flames - and their $198,662,180 payroll with them.
The Detroit Tigers at $82,302,069 has a nice house too, but somehow you
feel the front door is open to all of us.

Alex Rodriguez - he will never be mistaken for Mr. October in New York.
Defensively, he is unreliable. He tries to cover it up with his bat,
but when his bat fails him, it seems the whole team is exposed. I
don’t think the Yankees will cut him lose. I guarantee that the first
item on George Steinbrenner’s agenda will be to get a copy of the list
of free agent pitchers - and he will pay, pay, pay. I hate the Yankees
- and this is why. If YOU can come up with a way to prevent the New
York Yankees from continually creating an uneven playing field in their
favour, let me know. Short of a hard cap, I can’t think of a solution.

I want to end on a happy note today. When the Detroit Tigers came
running back out onto the playing field last night, champagne in tow,
and proceeded to give their fans a champagne bath, I wanted to stand up
and cheer. This is a team that gets it. The fans are an integral part
of the baseball equation. Too often they are forgotten. We’ve all
seen the celebrations in the clubhouse, but to bring the celebration
back onto the field was magical. There were kids of all ages at
Comerica Field last night who will reminisce about this experience for
years to come.

Bye Bye Yankees - and good riddance.

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Some of us have long memories where Randy Moss is concerned. I remember when the Minnesota Vikings took a chance on drafting him when no other team would. I remember shaking my head and hoping the Vikings had not made a terrible mistake. For the most part, I enjoyed watching his obvious natural talent. He was instrumental in turning the Vikings Offense into one of the best in the NFL. Unfortunately, the wheels came off rather abruptly for Randy Moss in Minnesota.

Randy Moss is older but no wiser. And he will never be mistaken for a team leader.

In his interview on Saturday for Fox Sports Radio, at one point he remarked "This is not my team, I'm only playing here, so whoever they put out opposite of me, either I'll play with them or I won't play with them."

Lovely. Just pass the buck, Randy.

Randy’s never heard that if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.

He has nothing to lose by trying to lead by example both on and off the field – can you imagine Randy Moss holding his own team meeting? What a shock that would be!

Randy Moss is approaching 30 years old and is watching the Superbowl window get smaller and smaller.

It’s going to get very ugly in Oakland this year. We could use a talented Wide Receiver in Minnesota right now, but Randy Moss need not apply. You see, we’re also looking for someone who leads by example – you know, someone willing to go the extra mile…for the team. No, that’s not Randy Moss. Never was. Never will be.

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First we had Bob Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers GM, signing restricted free agent centre, Ryan Kesler, to a one-year offer sheet for $1.9 million U.S., thus forcing the Vancouver Canuck GM to match the offer. And, by matching the offer sheet, Kesler can’t be traded for at least one year under the new NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Of course, this is also a substantial additional hit to the Canuck cap – you see, they only planned to offer Kesler $900,000! It also means the Canucks are banging their heads on the League Cap. Nice one, Mr. Clarke.

Now, we have Devils GM, Lou Lamoriello nicely twisting out of his own salary cap problems at the 11th hour after receiving NHL league approval to deem Alexander Mogilny unfit to play, triggering the “Long-Term Injury” Clause. As a result, his salary will not go against the cap. Savings - $3.5 million US. Nice one, Lou! Another great loophole in the CBA Game discovered!

As one anonymous GM said "This opens up a real can of worms for the league; this is going to get ugly."

I understand the anger. Mogilny’s over 35 and why is his situation any different from any other aging player? And there is a clause in the new CBA whereby a player who is 35 or older who signs a multi-year deal will have his salary counted against the team’s cap if he retires or is sent down to the minors.

But, good old Lou found the “Long Term Injury” clause loophole. Good one, Lou!

Instead of anger and outrage, the other NHL GMs should get in the game. Learn the CBA - front to back. Play the game. It was only a matter of time before this chess game began. Anyone can pull this stunt – as long as the player’s condition stands up to the scrutiny of examination by medical physicians outside of the player’s own NHL organization.

Who will step up next? We are all going to learn a lot about the CBA this year. Last year, we waded through the new NHL rules – this is the year of the CBA. So sit back and enjoy – the fun is just beginning!

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As I was enjoying a wonderful day at Ralph Wilson Stadium on Sunday, I missed the episode in Tennessee where Titan defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth stepped on the helmet-less head of Dallas centre Andre Gurode.

I did catch the replay and like many football fans, waited for the NFL to take decisive action. There are countless situations where players are stepped on or punched, or god knows what else happens under the player piles, but I’ve never witnessed an incident as pre-mediated as this.

There was no doubt that Andre Gurode was completely defenseless. And, from all accounts, there was no exchange between the two players prior to the incident.

For someone to take advantage of a situation where a player’s helmet has come off and the player is lying on the ground is unconscionable.

For this senseless act of violence, Albert Haynesworth received a 5-game suspension. Not nearly enough. I frankly don’t care if he’s remorseful. Of course he is. (But, honestly, he didn’t seem very remorseful when he was chasing the official around after the flag was thrown). He appeared to be making an attempt to plead his case!

The NFL dropped the ball here. It was the opportunity to send a very clear message of Zero Tolerance. Period. If a player can’t control his emotions on the field, he doesn’t belong there. If a player deliberately commits an act that injures another player, the decision is easy – the player is gone and his season is over. Take some anger management courses and get your house in order.

As we know, Gurode received stitches above his forehead and below his eye. What if the eye had been struck and permanently damaged? What would the NFL have done then? Under these circumstances would Haynesworth have received a suspension for the duration of the season? Maybe. Probably. But it’s irrelevant. The litmus test should be “was there intent to injure”? If the answer is “yes”, the player is gone for the season – at the very minimum.

It remains to be seen what Jeff Fisher and the Titans will do regarding the penalty to their own player. Coach Fisher, a formal, sincere and personal apology to Albert Haynesworth by Andre Gurode is an essential first step.

Five games’ suspension – not enough…not nearly enough.

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Will you watch the baseball playoffs - wildcard games, division playoffs, World Series? Of course you will. But ask yourself how many regular season games you passed on because they simply didn’t mean anything. This is something Major League Baseball chooses to ignore.

The argument I hear all the time is that to add more teams to the playoff format would lessen the importance of the regular season and that the current format is designed to create pennant races.

NEWSFLASH - with so many teams out of the race by the end of July, much of the drama of pennant races never materializes. This is proven simply by the number of teams that did nothing at the trade deadline.

You can talk tradition. I would rather talk history and facts. It’s no coincidence that an extra layer of playoffs was added after the 1981 mid-season player’s strike.

It’s also no coincidence that MLB introduced the Division Series and wildcard teams in 1995 - again, after the bitter strike that resulted in the cancellation of the 1995 World Series.

Interesting that MLB only sits up and takes notice when fans put the pressure on.

Hey traditionalists - haven’t the wildcard races added a lot of much-needed excitement? And gate revenue. A Win-Win for the players, owners, and the fans.

This is the point. There are three key partners in this game - too often, the fans don’t receive their slice of the pie. I’ve had the thrill of watching my team clinch the pennant. And I jumped up and down when my team won the World Series. Every fan deserves the opportunity to experience a pennant run - speak up fans, it’s your game too.

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I was not surprised that Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada were sentenced to jail for refusing to divulge the source(s) who leaked the grand jury testimony regarding Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi and Tim Montgomery to name a few.

I am also not surprised that they have decided to appeal the judge’s ruling. As I said before, I can see both sides of the coin about this issue. However, I hope they fight this ruling all the way to the Supreme Court. They will ultimately lose and will in all likelihood serve some jail time - probably nowhere near 18 months - I hope. This, in some respects, would be a victory.

I have real concerns that muzzling the Press ultimately hurts us all. We have to ask ourselves why we have the Press in the first place. So Lance and Mark, please keep on fighting. There are stories that need telling and they won’t get told if people fear their identities won’t be protected.

No matter what happens, I am really glad that this particular cat is very much out of the bag!

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