Archive for April 14th, 2006

April14

Feds Investigating Bonds

By: the mighty mjd

Those are asterisks. Not black snowflakes.I have no particular love for Barry Bonds, I have no particular dislike for Barry Bonds… but I really think this is absurd. The federal government is going after him, trying to pin a perjury rap on him and prove that he lied to a grand jury in 2003.

I don’t know if he perjured himself… he may have. And I’m not saying that’s okay, or that that’s a good thing. But any tax dollars spent on this, any man hours spent on this, are just being absolutely wasted… in now way would charging Barry Bonds with perjury make our nation better or safer. It’s just dumb to spend any resources on this. When all the street crime and corporate crime is taken care of, then maybe the federal government can try to put Barry Bonds in jail.

The fact that he was ever testifying before a grand jury to begin with is asinine, since, you know… this is about baseball. I think it’s perfectly reasonable for fans to be fired up about the steroid issue. But our government? Their time couldn’t be better spent elsewhere? Is someone going to tell me tomorrow that putting Barry Bonds in jail is helping spread democracy to Iraq?

Put an asterisk in the record book, shame his baseball accomplishments all you want… I’m more or less okay with that, but that’s where it should stop. This is a sports thing… it is not an issue of any national importance. It’s gone too far.

Posted in: Baseball, Criminality17 comments

April14

The Daily Quickie Does Not Play To Win The Game

By: the mighty mjd

You PLAY to win the GAME. HELLO?It’s an argument that pops up every so often… is it really worth it for an NBA team to bust their ass to earn an 8-seed in the playoffs, just to be eaten alive by Detroit? Dan Shanoff of ESPN.com’s Daily Quickie says no… he says it’s better to tank a little bit, get some ping pong balls in the lottery and improve draft position. MJD disagrees.

Losing is bad. I don’t think there’s any circumstance where you’d ever want your team to accept losing. The preacher in The Natural was right… losing is a disease. It spread, and it snowballs, and it gets worse. You want your guys to have a bloodthirsty desire to win… and not just win when it’s convenient, or win when it suits the general manager, but to always win. Always.

Even if they just get swept by Detroit in 4 blowouts… I think it’s worth it. It’s worth getting that up close view of how a championship-level team handles their business in the playoffs. It’s worth fighting hard, even if you get your ass kicked, because the other option is laying down.

And, not that it’s relevant, because I believe that’s true if we’re talking about the difference between the #1 overall pick and the #20, or the difference between the #14 pick and the $16 pick… but we’re just talking about a couple of spots here, in a draft that isn’t very deep. I would never ever ever ask guys to shelve their pride and their competitive spirit.. particularly not for a couple of draft spots in the middle of the round.

Ask the Clippers about the value of a winning attitude vs. the value of a bunch of high draft picks. Ask the Atlanta Hawks… they’ve had their share of draft picks. What they haven’t had is a winning culture. That’s more important. And if a team has that, or is building towards it… it’s not worth eroding it.

Posted in: NBA9 comments

April14

Arena Football: The 50-Yard Indoor… Mass

By: the mighty mjd

Steeldogs... I don't get it. Is there a group of people out there who are intimidated by dogs made of aluminum?Arena Football 2 franchise, the Birmingham Steeldogs, are going religious. Their traditional jerseys will be replaced in an upcoming game with Bible-themed jerseys. For instance, the back of QB Ryan Hawk’s jersey usually reads “HAWK 12,” but will be switched to “JAMES 12″ during the game, as an homage to the book of James, Chapter 1, Verse 2.

James 1:2, for those of you who are curious, is this passage:

Fear not, though ye have not the skill for the NFL, nor the sense to hold down regular employment, ye shall be blessed with nets behind thine endzones. And lo, for thou art not handy with the pigskin, thou shalt still appear on NBC on the sabbath, which thou have made less holy. Amen.

Bibles are also going to be handed out, and some Christian recording artist is doing a pre-game concert. Some religious group out there is shelling out some money for this… and something tells me Kurt Warner is involved. I dunno. It seems bizarre to me, and I just have to wonder… if someone approached the Birmingham Steeldogs and said, “Hey, we wanna have Jew night, where the players wear the Star of David on their helmet and the front of their jerseys will read, “You know, Jesus wasn’t really all that special,” how would the Steeldogs react?

Posted in: Other Sports5 comments

April14

UConn Baller Declares For The Draft

By: the mighty mjd

Between the lyrics, and the excitement on his face from the manly contact happening here... I think Ed Nelson may be trying to hide something.Through 29 games last year, he was responsible for 92 points, 89 rebounds, 7 assists, 17 turnovers, and 1 really suck-ass rap song. UConn forward Ed Nelson has made himself eligible for the draft… the NFL draft. So, over the span of four seasons, he’s gone from the ACC Basketball Rookie of the Year to “Hey, fuck it, let’s try football.”

He played one year of football in high school, and hasn’t played since. But his agent says he’s really good, and Jim Calhoun likes his chances… and his mom probably thinks he’s a wonderful boy, too. Best of luck to him.

And in case any of you missed it… Ed Nelson’s a rapper, too. And if you’re a queer, he’ll knock you out. Really, he will… have a listen.

Best of luck to Ed Nelson. Actually… no, I don’t mean that at all.

Posted in: College Hoops, Dickheads, NFL7 comments

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