A Few Thoughts to Close the Week

Besides the passing of Phil Rizzuto and Jose Offerman completely losing control it was a semi slow week in our world of sports. And while Mariano Rivera looks all to human as the pennant races are about to get scolding hot and Tiger Woods keeps performing like the Terminator I am going to leave them both alone until next week. If you are looking for Tim Donaghy sound offs look elsewhere and that goes for Michael Vick as well. I am going to do my best to keep those assholes off my page unless I feel that strongly about committing the time to it. Today I am not giving them anymore thought.




The passing of Phil Rizzuto this week was very sad. Though I am not a Yankee fan I grew up watching the games and listening to the “Scooter” on a fairly consistent basis. His huckleberries and holy cow’s will forever be entrenched in my mind. His spirit for the game, pride in being part of the Yankee family and tradition is something he carried with him every day. I think many, myself included, took Rizzuto for granted as a broadcaster but not on purpose. You just never thought he would not be there come game night. He made the broadcast different from any other, simply because he was himself. In today’s media world you have so many of these clowns with their broadcast voices or tones, trying to sound a certain way. While it may work for a few, Phil was Phil. That is what made him so enjoyable. Last week after his passing many stories and thoughts were shared about Rizzuto. He was referred to as a wonderful teammate, his winning percentage in games that he started for the Yankees was a whopping .620. He was also the AL MVP in 1950. What really put a smile on my face when hearing about Rizzuto was the following: Rizzuto would always keep score during the game in the booth. When he would leave the booth to grab something to drink, go to the men’s room or to say hello to someone in the media room he would miss some action on the diamond. Instead of finding out what he had missed and marking it on his score card he simply would mark down WW, "Wasn’t Watching". Humorous and honest two qualities of many that will be missed from one Phil Rizzuto. Rest in peace Scooter, you will be missed by many.






Jose Offerman had quite the week. This guy is 38 years old, was in the big leagues for 15 years. He was an all-star on the ’99 Red Sox who went to the ALCS before falling to the Yankees (Yes, the same Red Sox team that came back from 2-0 down against the Tribe, which included Pedro’s 6 innings of no hit ball in relief, I swear I am not bitter at all, thanks dad.) You figure a guy still playing at this age for the Long Island Ducks of all teams would still be doing it for two simple reasons. He loves the game and he needs the check. So what about an 0-1 breaking ball that catches you in the calf is gonna make you go Juan Marcial on a pitcher and a catcher with a bat? Right now I don’t have those answers but what I do know is that an example is going to made out of Offerman. With all the negative shit going on right now he picked a bad time to go batty. Ha, batty, that is fucken funny. The owner of the Bridgeport team whom Offerman and the Ducks were playing is already calling for his life time suspension from the league and he has been charged with assault. For a guy with over 1,500 career hits and 15 years in the majors it is unfortunate he went off the deep end. But assault is assault and this is what he will be associated with for quite a while despite the quality years of service.




Final Thoughts...After being at the Madden Launch party last week I am already hooked on the new game. Besides the Eagle cheerleaders lighting up the room, Warren Moon, Eric Dickerson and Jamal Anderson were all in attendance as the ex player contingent. Hats off to BD at ESPN and PC at Lunar for hooking up their boys...I saw Rescue Dawn last night, directed by Werner Herzog starring Christian Bale. If you are a film lover try to catch it before it disappears from theatres. It is beautifully shot and Bale's performance again proves he is entering the upper echelon of actors...A special welcome back to my man the DOC who was out of the city for a bit, we all missed his musky scent...I am out like the New York bullpens...

Monday Night Mix

The Monday Mix

After a wild wedding weekend here in the city there are a number of things that linger from last week that I did not touch on. Before I hit those though I need to stress just how hysterical and well done the film “Knocked Up” is. As part of my recovery from a 5am night on Saturday I saw a 4pm showing of Knocked Up yesterday (the theatre is around the corner from my crib, it couldn’t have been any easier) If for some reason you have not seen it yet make it a priority while it is still playing and while the theatres (besides the FILM FORUM, www.filmforum.com) are filled mostly with crap this summer Knocked Up IMO is a notch above the 40 Year Old Virgin and a notch below Wedding Crashers.

The Film Forum is smack in the middle of a NYC Film Noir Festival playing countless classics from Sweet Smell of Success to Taxi Driver to Killer’s Kiss (Stanly Kubrick’s first real feature) and a one-week run of the French Connection starting August 30.




The Return of Rick Ankiel
A few years back even when Rick Ankiel couldn’t find home plate with a compass, a map and a GPS it was always reiterated what a tremendous all around athlete he was and that if it called for it he could be in the big leagues as a position player. Welcome back Rick. Last week Ankiel returned to the Cardinals as an outfielder. In four games Ankiel has six hits in sixteen at bats including three homeruns, which included two on Saturday against the Dodgers. And just when you thought the homeruns were enough, he makes a sliding over the shoulder catch at the base of the right field wall to further prove that he does indeed have that special something that is gonna keep him in up here for more than an extended cup of coffee. Great job Rick. This is another great baseball story to get our minds off of the needles.


The Celtics Bench
In an off season where you add Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to your club you’d expect and embrace the hype that you have gotten in the press and the excitement now brewing in all Celtics fans hearts and minds across the country. With Allen, Garnett and Paul Pierce this team promises to be very dangerous this season. Many are saying however that this team has no chance of getting deep into the playoffs because of their bench, which before I go on is far from finalized yet. Recently signed Eddie House and Scott Pollard are seasoned NBA players who fill specific roles. House is going to be the main perimeter option off of the bench (unless of course Reggie Miller comes back and dawns a green jersey) as well as share some of the backup point guard duties, which he has done in Phoenix, Sacramento and Miami. Last season in New Jersey he served mainly as a reserve at the two-guard spot as the Nets have the talented Marcus Williams backing up Jason Kidd. Rod Thorn has publicly praised House and the
skill set he now brings to the Celtics. Scot Pollard will fill the one of the big man spots as a reserve as he has been a member of three different organizations that have traveled deep into the postseason. While his performance last season was non-existent as he was limited to 24 games because of injuries he knows what it takes to be part of a winning basketball team and play a role. His role is simple, set screens, rebound, defend the post and clean up on the offensive glass. The beauty of Pollard is that he knows and welcomes it. Let’s just hope he stays healthy, keeps the hair styles under control and does not talk to the about drugs at any point. In addition to these two veterans the Celtics will be seeking contributions from a recovered Tony Allen, Brian Scalabrine, Leon Powe and rookies Glen Davis and Gabe Pruitt. Am I thinking that all of these players will pan out and be good fits this season? No. Not by a long shot but those that are pushing the panic button about the bench need to keep the faith for a little longer that Danny Ainge is going to get the necessary pieces in place to mesh with Boston’s new big three.




Brady Quinn in Camp
Finally Mr. Quinn, agent Tom Condon and the Cleveland Browns came to an agreement last week. I do not want to speculate about who was right and wrong in this situation. I am laying blame on both parties for Quinn missing time. As a fan of both Quinn and the Browns I am happy it is done, but annoyed it took so damn long. Shit Brady, you were left out there during the draft, in the green room, desponded and confused as you were passed over and over until your favorite team as a kid, the Browns traded for the twenty first pick (a great move I thought) and drafted you to become the quarterback of the future. I understand protecting yourself financially down the road but this should have been an easier process. On the flip side the Browns traded next years first round pick to get Quinn, a big time quarterback that they have been craving since Tim Couch turned out to be another one of their first round busts. (I do not mean to sell Charlie Frye short but Quinn has the potential to be a star) So I guess I must ask aloud what the Browns were doing by not expediting the process by coming to terms sooner so they could get this guy into camp. Physically I am sure Quinn is on point but this is the NFL, the National Football League, “where they play for pay.” Mentally Quinn will have some serious catching up to do with the system and he will have to do a significant amount of work to gain the respect of many of his teammates and coaches as missing time in August is not favorable when it comes to rookies, regardless of the hype or talent.


Michael Strahan
Seriously, no seriously, please for your own sake and for the sake of the many loyal Giants fans out there have been supporting you for years, please Mr. Strahan do one of two things. Either get your ass into camp and be the veteran presence you know you could be on a team that could be in the postseason or make that very difficult choice that all that came before you have made, and call it a career. The statement you released thru the NFL on August 5,
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/trainingcamp07/news/story?id=2962637, was clear, respectful and heartfelt. While that is all well and good, please Michael enough of the talk, make a choice. While it is ultimately your life, your delay is affecting a team, an organization and of course its fans.


With the Flag Football season looming I am headed for a workout and then because I seem to be very lucky I will be at the Madden Launch Party tonight in Time’s Square at the ESPN Zone. It is going to be a fun evening.

Enough of this guy already!!!

It is time for this guy to shut his mouth.

I have been biding my time on a certain topic, but I can hold back no longer. Not after his quotes in the New York Post today, and not after all the you tubing that has been going on for the past month or so. Some of you may have felt it coming, yes, Stephon Marbury. Now I am not going to claim to know him personally man to man, (I did direct his basketball camp once, that was far from amusing) but from what I can gather between spending an afternoon with him two years ago, his performance as a Knick and the way he has conducted himself in front of a camera especially this off season it is time to let loose a bit on this guy. All right more than a bit, a lot!!! This morning I read that Marbury is not concerned with KG going to Boston and that the new look Knicks (now regarded as “Nice and Nasty”) has an edge because they have a year of chemistry. Um, wait, yeah, didn’t the Knicks just bring in a major player just like the Celtics did? (Except Garnett is a future Hall of Famer and Zach Randolph is closer to being a future felon if he does not learn how to behave, being in New York should help that out.) Good point Steph.

This guy had New York at his feet when he was shipped back here during the 2004 season from Phoenix. He was raised in Coney Island, was a city legend at Lincoln high school, had an unreal start to his career with KG in Minnesota after one year at Georgia Tech. Then it all started. He forced his way out of Minnesota (he blames GM Kevin McHale of course, did I mention how much I LOVE Kevin McHale) then bounces from New Jersey to Phoenix and then to the Knicks.

At the time I thought Isiah Thomas acquiring him was a no brainer. Then came the contract extension he demanded which this upcoming year will pay him $20 million and a bit more the year after that. What’s interesting is what Marbury plans to do after his contract is up. He plans on going to play in Italy. Hmmm. A man who could be loosing his marbles (we have plenty of you tube evidence which you will find below) or a man with a plan in place that will get him out of New York and onto the court in Italy where he can be the man and no one will be regarding him as an all time underachieving selfish malcontent that essentially stole money from the Knicks in regards to his on court value. As I mentioned in a previous post while referring to Tony Gwynn’s Hall of Fame induction speech last week “you have a responsibility when you put that uniform on.” In my eyes and many others Stephon Marbury has not fulfilled his on court responsibility or as the leader of the New York Knicks.

Yes, he created Starbury’s, a low priced sneaker, designed for the under privileged of New York, which is a wonderful thing. What was the chance that was Steph’s idea? Close to zero. But I must say, good move by Marbury by going full speed after the project. (I must say though the sneakers look like moon boots and are not all that conducive to playing in, but that is not the point.) I guess what I am trying to say is part of me thinks he has done this to deflect the attention away from his less than stellar on court performance and increasingly strange off the court behavior. I am not going to sit here and go over the stat column, but what I will say is this: “For a player that physically gifted at the point guard position, he has never made his teammates better. I don’t care about the assist numbers, he has never raised the level of play of his teammates with any consistency.” That is his job, period. Not only that, he had a hand in one of the most disappointing coach/franchise relationships in the history of the game during Larry Brown’s stay. Now I am not removing all the blame from Brown, but Marbury time and again shot his mouth off in the media and did not follow Coach’s instructions. I think Larry Brown’s coaching resume in regards to taking over teams and getting them to the next level was quite respected, well until he had to deal with the mess of the Knicks, he got no help from the “team leader.” What Brown got was a miserable experience in New York, finger pointing and a large severance check from Dolan. He deserved better.

Below are some examples of Marbury’s “interesting” behavior this off-season. You tell me between his on court play and the way he represents this once proud franchise, if he is worth even half of what he is making on the pro sports landscape. (Take 5 seconds to think about the money these guys make, unreal)

Side note, make sure you DO NOT have any food or drink in your mouth while watching these. Especially on Mike’d up, which was hosted by Bruce Beck, priceless TV that I was able to watch live, simply priceless.


Mike’d Up

Just watch the whole thing, not almost all of it, ALL OF IT.


MSG Sports News

Can someone get me a "Yes Siir" count from the mouth of Marbury's ass kissing cronny? Key phrases to absorb...Youthier and Lefty Southpaw.

One on One with Gus Johnson

Gus follows up with Marbury on the Mike'd up interview, Gus is far from comfortable here.