I’ll be liveblogging the Steelers/Fishies game this evening at the NFL Fanhouse, which you can find at:
Archive for September 7th, 2006
September7
Just To Let You Know…
You’re a 31-year-old minor league journeyman pitcher. You finally, finally get the call to make an appearance in the bigs. Your wife packs up the kids and makes the drive from Rochester to Philadelphia. You’ve got family and friends playing in from San Diego to see you pitch.
Then it rains, and the game is postponed. The team doesn’t need you anymore, and your ass is headed back to Scranton. Sorry, fella. Give my regards to Dwight Schrute.
That’s exactly what happened to Brian Mazone, and I’m not sure if that would hurt more or less than the foul tip that destroyed Michael Barrett’s nutsac. It just seems cruel as fuck. I at least hope he got to meet Ryan Howard, or have a nice shrimp cocktail in the team’s clubhouse or something. Perhaps some souvenir wristbands, or a big foam finger. At the very least, a warm and gentle handjob from the Phillie Phanatic.
And it’s not that I’m blaming anyone. The Phillies have to do what they have to do; they’re in the middle of a wildcard chase. They owe it to their players and fans to field the best possible team, regardless of whether or not it stomps on the heart of a guy who’s worked his whole life to get there. And Mazone understands that.
“It hurts. Obviously, it’s disappointing,” Mazone said. “But from where I came from to be in this position, getting sent back is one of the easiest things to overcome.”
Well, I hope so. Good luck, pal.
September7
Kobe Has Something To Share
Kobe Bryant had some comments about Team USA’s failures at the FIBA World Championships in Japan. Let’s have a look.
“Years playing together will jell us as a unit, [but] if there is no chemistry, it’s going to be tough to beat all those talented teams,” he said.
I’m not exactly sure what to make of that, and I’m also not quite sure why it’s the 3rd headline on ESPN.com right now. I suppose it’s because it involves Kobe Bryant and issues of chemistry, which is sort of the lightning rod issue of his career to this point.
I’d just like to know what the hell he meant, and why he thought it was important to open his mouth about it. I agree with him, that there were a couple of issues that would fall under the heading of “chemistry,” including the fact that no one on the team had any kind of balls except Carmelo Anthony. He was clearly the team leader, the only one willing to take charge, and sort of leaves everyone else in a supporting role, which is something none of them are even remotely familiar with.
That was one of the issues facing the team… and while that one might fall under the chemistry umbrella, there were some basic X’s and O’s issues that have nothing to do with chemistry that also need to be worked out.
He’s never going to, but I’d love to hear him expand on that honestly. If he’s thinking that the team needed him to step in, take control, and tell everyone else exactly what they need to do… I couldn’t disagree with that. I’m not sure Kobe’s the right guy for it, but … hey, no one else did it.
