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Sadly, my interest in the Summer Olympics (and the Winter Games for that matter) seems to diminish every four years. I have fond memories of the 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid, largely because it was my first experience watching the Olympics. I was too young to understand the overall significance of the US Hockey Team's victory over Russia, but I loved the action nonetheless. I vividly recall the great 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles. The Americans of course won every medal that wasn't nailed down. There was plenty of hype for the Summer games in 1992 (the original Dream Team) and 1996 (hosted by Atlanta). I can't recall anything from 2000 except for Rulon Gardner. The Winter Games haven't been compelling since the year that Tonya Harding hired some oaf to play whack-a-mole with Nancy Kerrigan's ankle. This year, I probably watched less of the Summer Games than ever, but did tune in long enough to come up with a few observations.

Has there ever been a sillier Olympic event than fast walking (or as they call it the 20 km and 50 km walk)? The participants in this "sport" obviously have a high threshold for humiliation. Martin Short and Harry Shearer didn't even look that goofy in their classic 1984 Men's synchronized swimming skit on Saturday Night Live ("I'm not that strong a swimmer"). It is a travesty that fast walking became an Olympic event before poker, candlepin bowling, Nintendo and wiffle ball.

Like many, I felt that the Misty May / Kerri Walsh romp to gold in Beach Volleyball was one of the most compelling stories of the Olympics. Still, I couldn't have been the only one who thought that the news of Misty May sprinking her dead mother's ashes on the court before the semifinal game was a little bit creepy. I also felt guilty because I couldn't help but think about the end of The Big Lebowski where The Dude and Walter have the ceremony for Donny.

Was anyone else thinking that Jennie Finch and Beach Volleyball is a match made in heaven?

As usual, we were forced to suffer through gymnastics nearly every night in primetime. It's bad enough when medals are on the line, but NBC also televised the "it doesn't even count" gymnastics recital (or whatever they call it). It makes me want to scream. I still cannot understand the fascination with watching these hobbits bounce around on a floor mat. Thank god there is no professional gymnastics league. Having the WNBA force fed to us on national television every week is bad enough.

One of the most ludicrous stories to come out of the Olympics came from the International Federation of Gymnastics which asked American Paul Hamm to turn in the gold medal that he won because of a judge's scoring error. This is beyond ridiculous, even for people involved in gymnastics. First of all, the entire sport is based on the random whims of judges. There is no real scoring system, so every medalist is more or less chosen at random to begin with. Secondly, errors in officiating is part of every sport (not that gymnastics is really a sport). It would set a foolish precendent if teams that won important matches or games started surrendering their victories where there was evidence of poor officiating. Should the Kansas City Royals hand over the 1985 World Series trophy to the St. Louis Cardinals? Should the Raiders surrender Superbowl XI because a bad roughing the passer call against the Patriots enabled them to get to the Superbowl? I'm going to say "no" but I'm sure the guys who closely follow the sport which features men in tights will disagree with me.

Of all the jobs in the world that I would not recommend for nearsighted people, javelin distance judge tops the list.

My favorite personality from the Olympics was the Russian Women's Volleyball coach, Nikolay Karpol. Karpol spent the entire championship game screaming at his players. Apparently, he's like that during all of the games. This guy is so out of control he makes Bob Knight look like Mr. Rogers.

More from Outside of Athens:

The United States and every other country that isn't a complete farce (that's you Phillipines) adheres to a strict policy of never negotiating with terrorists. I think the NFL needs to institute a similar "do not negotiate with holdouts under contract" policy.

How irrelevant is baseball in Montreal? Let's put it this way: Expos fans no longer have the will to chase foul balls hit into the stands.

I can't think of a better way to end the month than with a score like Indians 22, Yankees 0. In just over two weeks, the Red Sox have moved from 10 1/2 games behind the Hated Ones to only 3 1/2 games out. Moreover, during that time the Yankees have won four games in the ninth inning. The Yankees trailed heading into the ninth in one of those games and won two others with two outs in the ninth inning. Take those games away and the Sox are actually ahead in the AL East. The Yankees shouldn't have a lead to begin with. Boston has outscored their opponents by a total of 141 runs this season. The Yankees have outscored their opponents by a total of only 59. The Red Sox have a higher batting average by nearly 20 points and have scored 37 more runs than the Bronx Bombers. The Red Sox staff ERA is nearly an entire run better than the Yankee staff ERA. With the additions of Cabrera and Mientkiewicz, the Sox are probably a better defensive team as well. The Sox are 8-5 against New York this year and would be 10-3 if not for a hole in David Ortiz's glove and a fluke two-out, extra inning rally by the Yankee bench stiffs. The Yankees are not only in danger of giving up the AL East, but the way that Anaheim and Oakland are playing, the $190 million men may not even make the playoffs. Best of all, the trading deadline has come and gone, so Steinbrenner can't buy any more players in 2004. The Red Sox are clearly the better team. Hopefully, they will be at least four games better over the next five weeks.

The Boston College Eagles open their final season in the Big East on Thursday against Ball State in Muncie, Indiana. To learn more about the Eagles, please visit www.bceaglesfootball.com. New this week: The Top Ten Things to know About Ball State Football and BC's Probable Starters.

Random Notes - August 17, 2004

With six weeks left in the Major League Baseball season, the AL and NL MVP and Cy Young awards remain up for grabs. Here are my favorites to win the awards:

AL MVP

Vladimir Guerrero, Angels -- Guerrero and Jose Guillen have carried an Angels team decimated by injuries in 2004. Vlad has had little trouble adjusting to American League pitching. He's currently among the top eight players in the AL in batting average (.325), homers (25), RBIs (89), runs (89) and doubles (30). Oh by the way, Guerrero has 10 outfield assists as well. If the Angels make it to the postseason, Vlad should be a lock. Even if they don't, he's the favorite.

David Ortiz, Red Sox -- On offensive numbers alone, David Ortiz runs away with MVP award. He is tied with teammate Manny Ramirez for the league lead in homers with 30 and is second in RBIs with 105 (which puts him on pace for 41 HR and 144 RBI). He's also batting a healthy .309 with 39 doubles. The biggest negative for Ortiz is that he is mainly a designated hitter and many voters will not vote for a DH. But, if the Angels fade and the Sox push their way into the playoffs, Ortiz and Ramirez could have a chance to steal the award from Guerrero.

Manny Ramirez, Red Sox -- Manny Ramirez is having nearly as big as year as David Ortiz. He's tied with Big Papi for the league lead in homers and is in the top seven in doubles, RBIs, batting average and on base percentage. He leads the league in slugging percentage. Unlike Ortiz, Ramirez plays in the field on most days. Ramirez may miss out on some MVP votes because of his strange tendency to disrupt team chemistry. Sox fans know that Ortiz is the team's MVP and so do the voters. However, if Ramirez has a huge September and Ortiz and Guerrero do not, Manny could win the AL MVP.

Gary Sheffield, Yankees -- .292, 28 HR, 86 RBI
Travis Hafner, Indians -- .315, 21 HR, 91 RBI

AL Cy Young

Mark Mulder, A's -- 2004 looks an awful lot like the 2002 season when an Oakland A's ace held off two Red Sox starters to win the AL Cy Young Award. That year, it was Barry Zito outlasting Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe. This year, it is Mark Mulder with a narrow lead over Curt Schilling and Pedro. Mulder is impressive across the board: 15-4 with a solid 3.71 ERA and 119 strikeouts. Surprisingly, Mulder is the only A's starters in double figures in wins at this point. That fact, coupled with the A's success, makes Mulder the clear Cy Young leader with six weeks left.

Curt Schilling, Red Sox -- Curt Schilling was neck and neck with Mulder, but has struggled a bit of late. Schilling's numbers remain impressive, however. He's 14-6 with a 3.60 ERA and is fourth in the league with 143 strikeouts. He's also been a workhorse (as usual), tossing 167 innings.

Pedro Martinez -- After a slow start, Pedro Martinez has put himself in position to win a fourth Cy Young Award. Pedro is currently 13-4 with an ERA of 3.78 and 170 strikeouts. He's 9-1 in his last 14 starts and has double-digit strikeouts in his last three starts.

Johan Santana, Twins -- 12-6, 3.25 ERA
Joe Nathan, Twins -- 34/35 in save chances, 0.84 ERA

NL MVP

Scott Rolen, Cardinals -- What a year Scott Rolen is having. He's currently fourth in batting average (.328), eighth in homers (28), first in RBIs (104) and has played spectacularly at third base. It doesn't hurt that the Cardinals have been the best team in baseball by a mile and a half.

Albert Pujols, Cardinals -- Rolen's chief compeition for MVP is the amazing Albert Pujols who has put up equally impressive numbers (.324, 37 HR, 93 RBI). Rolen will likely have the edge on his teammate because of his superior defense but if Pujols hits 50 homers, he might get the nod.

Barry Bonds, Giants -- Barry Bonds is certainly the most important player to his team, which is officially what the MVP Award honors. Bonds has some freakish numbers including a .607 on base percentage and .790 slugging percentage. Those numbers would look good in a slow-pitch softball league. Bonds is also leading the league with a .354 average and is near the top with 33 homeruns. The fact that the Giants are back in the pennant race puts Bonds back in the MVP race.

Adrian Beltre, Dodgers -- .324, 34 HR, 82 RBIs
Bobby Abreu, Phillies -- .294, 26 HR, 82 RBIs, 29 SB

NL Cy Young

Jason Schmidt, Giants -- Jason Schmidt finished second in the NL Cy Young voting last season but will difficult to beat this season if he continues to win. The Giants ace is 15-4 with a 2.59 ERA and 186 strikeouts this season and is 32-9 since the start of last season. What's more, Schmidt started the season 0-2. He has won 15 of 17 decisions since.

Roger Clemens, Astros -- Unlike Schmidt, Roger Clemens had an amazing start to his first season in the National League. The Rocket was 9-0 with a 2.08 ERA through 12 starts. Since then, Roger has won only 3 of 7 decisions in 12 starts and his ERA has risen to a still excellent 2.76 ERA. Clemens would likely be the sentimental favorite if he returns to his early season form, but that is not a likely scenario for the 42-year-old.

Carlos Zambrano, Cubs -- Carlos Zambrano has been the victim of lack of run support on many occasions this season. Three times the Cubs have been shutout in a Zambrano start. Still, the 23-year-old righthander has had an outstanding season going 11-6 with a 2.84 ERA and 142 strikeouts. In addition, five times this season Zambrano has given up no earned runs. Zambrano will probably need to win at least another six or seven games this season to have a shot to win the NL Cy Young in 2004.

Carl Pavano, Marlins -- 13-5, 3.02 ERA
Russ Ortiz, Braves -- 13-6, 3.46 ERA

In his last 12 starts, Bronson Arroyo has an ERA of 3.35 and a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.35. Unfortunately, Bronson is only 3-6 during that time period. If you remove the bad outing against the Yankees on July 24th, Arroyo's ERA is 2.86 in his last 11 starts.

In the week that he has been with the team, Browns rookie tight end Kellen Winslow has fought with an opponent in a preseason game, fought with a teammate in practice and publicly challenged his teammates to match his intensity level. I've never played pro football, but my sense is that it isn't exactly appropriate for someone who has been in the league for a week to be questioning the desire of ten year vets. The Browns should be ashamed of themselves for giving $40 million ($16 million guaranteed) to a player who has never played a single down in the league and is a first class idiot, not unlike pretty much every player that arrives from the University of Miami, including the previous UM tight end, Jeremy Shockey. My prediction is that Winslow will suspended by midseason, will be demanding a trade by this time next year and will someday fake being injured and exhausted in an AFC Playoff game in Miami.

Speaking of losers, has anyone in the history of the NFL been more pathetic than Ricky Williams? Williams decided that giving up marijuana was too much of a sacrifice to receive $6 million per year to play in the NFL. Miami lost Williams to drugs and David Boston to an season-ending injury in a single week. For once, the Dolphins will have a legitimate excuse for failing to make the playoffs.

Michael Moore's "documentary" film Fahrenheit 9/11 will be available on DVD on October 5th, just four weeks before the Presidential Election. Michael Moore fans will be able to purchase the DVD alone or buy the deluxe edition, which includes the DVD, an American Flag, a bottle of gasoline and a lighter.

Last week John Kerry made a speech in which he told the audience that America should be fighting a more "thoughful" and "sensitive" war. I guess what this means is that if John Kerry becomes President, he will cancel the contract with Raytheon and ask the people at Hasbro to produce Nerf missiles.

George Bush also made news last week by not falling off of his bicycle.

Has anyone ever seen these guys -->
and these guys --> in the same place at the same time?

Random Notes - July 18, 2004

The reviews are in. Here are some testaments to Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 911:

"I laughed, I cried. Finally, a film where I am the good guy."
-Saddam Hussein

"This is the best Al Qaeda recruiting tool I've seen. The only thing missing is terrorists training on monkey bars."
-Osama Bin Laden

"It was a brilliant moronic film. I loved every minute that I hated it. At the concession stand I bought popcorn before I didn't I buy popcorn. I give it one thumb up and one thumb down."
-John Kerry

"I didn't care for it."
-George W. Bush

"Two Thumbs Way Up!"
-Ebert and Roeper

(Believe it or not, the last quote is real. Now that I think of it, I've never seen Ebert and Michael Moore in the same place at the same time).

Here are some quotes from Michael Moore followed by my comments

"If someone did this [9/11] to get back at Bush, then they did so by killing thousands of people who DID NOT VOTE for him! Boston, New York, D.C., and the planes' destination of California -- these were places that voted AGAINST Bush!"
-Michael Moore, September 12, 2001

First of all, this quote proves that Michael Moore is the dumbest man on the planet. Why on earth would Al Qaeda be trying to "get back at George Bush" as Moore proposes? It makes no sense. It wouldn't have mattered if Bush, Gore, Clinton or Bugs Bunny were President. Killing Americans was their only motivation. It's sickening that Moore, just one day after the terrorist attacks, was already exploiting the deaths of 3,000 people to make a political statement - a completely nonsensical one - against George Bush. When decent people learn of tragic events like 9/11 and the shootings at Columbine, we feel great sadness and our hearts go out to the victims and their families. When Michael Moore learns of these events, all he can think about is how to exploit their deaths for financial gain. When people die in a very public manner, Michael Moore probably hears the sound of cash registers ringing in his head.

"There is no terrorist threat in this country. This is a lie. This is the biggest lie we've been told."
-Michael Moore, October 2003

No terrorist threat? Unbelievable. The next thing we know, Michael Moore will be doing a "documentary" claiming that 9/11 never happened and that Adolf Hilter is George W. Bush's real father.

"The Iraqis who have risen up against the occupation are not 'insurgents' or 'terrorists' or 'The Enemy.' They are the Revolution, the Minutemen, and their numbers will grow, and they will win."
-Michael Moore

Michael Moore has said so many disgusting things, it's hard to pick the worst. This one is certainly a finalist. In this quote, Moore compares our Minutemen, who fought toe to toe with British soldiers to people in Iraq who (a) cowardly sneak up and shoot our soldiers in the back or (b) murder American civilians, burn their bodies and hang their corpses from bridges or (c) murder people from their own country simply because those people desire freedom. It also appears that Moore is rooting for the insurgent terrorists ("and they will win").

"I'm sorry, but the majority of Americans supported this war once it began and, sadly, that majority must now sacrifice their children until enough blood has been let that maybe -- just maybe -- God and the Iraqi people will forgive us in the end."
-Michael Moore

Wow. This sounds an awful lot like the material coming out of Osama Bin Laden. Al Qaeda's opinion is that America is the evil force and that God is on the side of people that kill innocent Americans and Israelis. Obviously, Michael Moore agrees with that belief. It appears that he is also calling for the deaths of American soldiers. I can't be 100% sure, but it would not surprise me if Moore is rooting for our soldiers to die with the hope that it will help John Kerry win the November election.

"The dumbest Brit here is smarter than the smartest American".
-Michael Moore

Riiiight. That's why Great Britain is the most powerful, successful country in the world. Oh wait, that's the United States.

"There's a gullible side to the American people. They can be easily misled. Religion is the best device used to mislead them."
-Michael Moore

Hmmm. In this quote Moore is talking about "gullible" Americans being "misled." The pinnacle of gullible people being misled is the audience at a Fahrenheit 911 showing. People in the Middle East believe that America is evil because they have had it drilled into their heads every day of their lives since birth. Convincing some Americans that the United States is evil apparently requires nothing more than two hours and a tub of popcorn. No one - I mean no one - has misled Americans more than Michael Moore.

"I like America to some extent."
-Michael Moore's response after being asked "You do not seem to like the U.S., do you?"

This is the closest Michael Moore will ever come to honesty. He clearly hates the United States as a nation, he hates Americans (except for himself) and he hates American soldiers.

"The Patriot Act is the first step. Mein Kampf was written long before Hitler came to power. And if the people of Germany had done something early on to stop these early signs, when the right-wing, when the extremists such as yourself (Bob Novak), decide that this is the way to go, if people don't speak up against this, you end up with something like they had in Germany."
-Michael Moore

Michael Moore may think he is being original by comparing the United States to the Third Reich, but this has been done to death by America-haters ranging from George Soros to Janeane Garofalo. Adolf Hitler killed as many as 30 million people. I can't even begin to describe how shameful it is to compare Hitler's acts of uncomparable evil to U.S. foreign policy. Actually, what America has done is remove from power a man who was one of the most prolific mass murderers since Hitler. Had Moore been alive in 1944, he probably would have taken Hitler's side.

"The motivation for war is simple. The U.S. government started the war with Iraq in order to make it easy for U.S. corporations to do business in other countries. They intend to use cheap labor in those countries, which will make Americans rich."
-Michael Moore

This comment appears to be jibberish. I would need a Traitor to English Dictionary to figure this one out.

"We live in the time where we have fictitious election results that elects a fictitious president. We live in a time where we have a man sending us to war for fictitious reasons. Whether it's the fictition of duct tape or fictition of orange alerts we are against this war"
-Michael Moore

This coming from a man whose movies are more fictitious than Spiderman 2.

More Conspiracy Theories and Stupidity

Michael Moore claims that the U.S. went to war in Afghanistan not to avenge the terrorist attacks but so that the Unocal Corporation could build a natural gas pipeline across Afghanistan.

Is anyone really dumb enough to believe that the murder of 3,000 people on September 11th was NOT the reason for the invasion of Afghanistan? Well, there is at least one. Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe believes Moore's fantasy and has endorsed Moore's America-hating ways. Of course this is the same guy who has been whining about the 2000 election for four consecutive years. Unlike the rest of us, McAuliffe and Moore didn't learn about the electoral college in fifth grade.

In late 2002, a year after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, in a debate with with Christopher Hitchens at the Telluride Film Festival, Moore claimed that Osama Bin Laden should be considered innocent until proven guilty.

Bin Laden innocent? Has Moore not seen Bin Laden's tapes urging Muslims to kill Americans? I'm sure he has seen the tapes but when you take sides with the enemy, you might as well go all out. What's worse is that Moore has been calling George W. Bush a deserter (from the Air National Guard) though there isn't a shred of evidence to support it. In Moore's eyes, The President is guilty until proven innocent but Bin Laden deserves the benefit of the doubt.

Final Comments

The biggest irony of all is that if Michael Moore had been a citizen of Iraq during Saddam Hussein reign and had made a similar film insulting the Saddam regime, the Iraqi dictator would have tortured him, imprisoned him and probably killed him, all without anything resembling a trial. Moore would not be able to produce these documentaries or make the millions that he does anywhere else in the world. Though Moore is very much a traitor, a deceiver and a despicable human being, the word that describes him best is 'ingrate.' He owes more to this country than pretty much every other United States citizen. He repays that by insulting Americans, emboldening our enemies and increasing the level of danger for our troops in Iraq. It sickens me that I have to share the planet with this man.

And More

As I looked at this past weekend's movie openings, it appeared that a Conservative had made a film to offset Moore's "Bush-bashing" in Fahrenheit 911. I was wrong. As it turns out, i-Robot is not about John Kerry.

The latest small thing that makes me laugh: SUV drivers slowing down to 2 miles per hour to go over speedbumps.

The over/under on Maria Sharapova joining the Sopranos to play Tony's latest Russian mistress is January 2006. The over/under on the number of months before everyone forgets about Anna Kournikova is four.

The Sox ended the day seven games behind the Yankees in the AL East despite having a better run differential (+74 to +58) than the Bronx Bombers. The Sox will need to win at least two of three next weekend in Fenway to have a legitimate chance to win the AL East. Pedro's extra day off (he pitched Friday in Anaheim instead of Thursday) means that he will miss the Yankee series in Fenway. Between this episode, Nomar's sulking in the last Yankee series and the Manny hamstring incident (he was somehow healthy enough for the All Star Game), it appears that the Red Sox top three superstars don't care too much about winning a championship.

Speaking of the Yankees, I'm feeling generous today so I will do something that I have never done before and will probably never do again. I am going to say something nice about the Yankees. I hate the Yankees and I always will, but it doesn't mean that they don't have any redeeming qualities. In fact, I would much rather spend a day with a Yankee fan that supports his country than a Red Sox fan that supports Michael Moore. Anyway, here is my list of five good things about the Yankees (you didn't really expect me to come up with ten did you?).

Derek Jeter: How can anyone not be impressed with the way Derek Jeter plays the game? Jeter's catch against the Red Sox where he tumbled into the Yankee Stadium stands is a testament to his exceptional effort and desire. Most players would have slid feet first on that play, but not Jeter. He sacrificed his body for the team as if it were the seventh game of the World Series. Jeter is also one of the smartest ballplayers I have even seen on a baseball diamond. It is no accident that he is always in the right place at the right time.

The Yankees, for the most part, have been a decent group of guys: Like most teams, the Yankees have employed some scoundrels over the past few years (Kevin Brown, Karim Garcia, Jeff Nelson, Roger Clemens) but for the most part, the Yankees have had a very likeable roster over the past six or seven years. I've already mentioned Derek Jeter. You can add all-around good guys like Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams, Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada. Paul O'Neill was a guy that annoyed me with his constant whining to the umpires, but he always played hard and I always respected him for it. Leading this crew is another good guy, Joe Torre. I sort of miss the old days when the Yankees had players that you loved to hate like Reggie Jackson, Luis Polonia, Steve Howe and Darryl Strawberry.

Steinbrenner is Committed to Winning: I don't like George Steinbrenner but I have to give him credit for doing everything that he can to win. Steinbrenner could easily get away with a $150 million payroll. Not many fans would object since he would still be spending $20 million more than any other team. Instead he is spending $190 million (not including luxury tax) and is willing to raise that figure even more to improve his team. I don't like the fact that the league allows him to outspend everyone by 50-400% but I can't help but admire the fact that he is trying to win, unlike some greedy, penny-pinching owners around baseball.

YES Network Announcers: As a DirecTV subscriber, I have access to a good percentage of the games played in the major leagues, including the Yankee games on the YES Network. Though they could never replace Don, Sean and Jerry, the YES broadcast team of Michael Kay and Jim Katt is excellent. They have great knowledge of baseball, the Yankees and the opponent. I appreciate Michael Kay's understated play-by-play (which is quite the opposite of obnoxious radio voice John "Theeeeeeeeee Yankees Win" Sterling). Jim Katt's knowledge is incredible.

Bob Sheppard: Long time (I'm talking 50 years) Yankee Public Address Announcer Bob Sheppard is one of the most unmistakable voices in baseball history, not unlike former Sox PA Announcer Sherm Feller. Sheppard's voice takes me back to my first days following baseball and the Yankee-Red Sox rivalry.

Random Notes - June 24, 2004

Just when you think that Barry Bonds can't possibly be a bigger jerk than he already is, he finds a new way to solidify his standing as one of the most obnoxious players in baseball history. Bonds told the Boston Globe last week that he would never play for the Sox because Boston "is too racist" for him. I might be able to sympathize a little if Bonds had actually been the victim of racism while in Boston but he admitted that his opinion is not based on any personal experience but on what he has heard. Boston remains dogged by allegations of racism mainly because of events that occurred in the mid-1970's. The myth that Boston a is racist city is kept alive largely by the New York media, probably to mask their own problems with racism that have occurred in recent years, not three decades ago. If Boston is racist, why was Mo Vaughn Boston's biggest sports hero in the late 1990's? Why is Pokey Reese the new fan favorite? Why did David Ortiz extend his contract if the racial climate is so poor? Even before his smear-job, I was rooting for Bonds to fail in his attempt to overtake the great Hank Aaron and become baseball's all-time home run king. It would be an absolute shame if a true great like Aaron is nudged out of the record books by an egotistical whiner who is more than likely cheating his way to the record. Bonds has undoubtetly experienced racism during his lifetime, but the bigotry that Aaron faced during his playing career was probably 100 times worse. False accusations of racism are just as bad as racism itself.

It infuriates me that pitchers are making it so easy for Bonds to challenge Aaron's record. If Bonds had played in Hammerin' Hank's era, he would be getting drilled in the back at least once per game. No pitcher from the 50's and 60's would allow a player to crowd the plate like Bonds does. The sight of the elbow pad alone would cause most pitchers from that era throw their best fastball into the small of Bonds' back.

The All Star break is fast approaching and teams are beginning to fall out of contention. That can mean only one thing: time for the Yankees to go on a shopping spree. George Steinbrenner knows that the Yankees are an inferior organization to the Red Sox, Twins, White Sox, A's and Angels. The only way that he can beat those clubs and go back to the World Series is to spend more money. New York's $65-130 million payroll advantage over the other clubs simply isn't enough to keep the Yankees on top so Big Stein is likely to go out and grab Carlos Beltran and a top starting pitcher - at the very least. There has been talk about the Red Sox trying to acquire to Beltran, mainly to keep him away from the Yankees, but I seriously doubt that Theo and Company are thinking along those lines. As far as I'm concerned the only thing the Red Sox starting nine needs is health. With the Sox regulars healthy, you have McCarty and Kapler for defense and Bellhorn and Youkilis for offense off of the bench. I really wouldn't change a thing unless an incredible offer crossed the table or if there was a serious injury to a key player. I am also willing to go through the rest of the season with the rotation as is. Lowe and Arroyo are coming around. Wakefield is in a slump but as we all know, he can be absolutely awful for eight starts then come back and win eight in a row. Maybe we should be glad that Wake is getting his slump out of the way now. The late inning bullpen crew of Embree-Timlin-Williamson-Foulke is solid. The Sox will undoubtedly pick up another veteran middle reliever for the stretch run but right now, I don't think this club needs to make any major moves if they can get healthy (that's a big IF). If a deal for someone like Randy Johnson comes along, they should go for it, but there isn't any need to mortgage the future to get a 10% upgrade with a guy like Freddy Garcia.

Nomar's stint on the DL may turn out to be a blessing in disguise for two reasons: (1) It gave Mark Bellhorn the opportunity to emerge and (2) Nomar's wrist won't take as much punishment this season. Last year, Nomar fell into the worst slump of his career in September. I can't help but think that the wear and tear of a 162 game schedule on the wrist had an impact on his hitting. Garciaparra batted .300 or better in nearly every month for three years, so it doesn't make sense that he would drop to a .170 month in the heat of a pennant race unless something was dramatically wrong.

The Brockton Rox of the Northeast League cancelled a Grady Little "Bobble-arm" giveaway. The team President said �The promotion, as great as I think it is, is being canceled because some saw it as distasteful to Grady personally, .." Hmmm, I can't think of anything as distasteful as Grady's managing, but that's just me. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any of the Grady Bobble-arms on EBay.

It seemed like the Red Sox were giving up an abnormally large number of unearned runs so I checked the stats. I was right. The Sox are leading all of Major League Baseball in unearned runs given up with 49 (the league average is only 27). Kansas City is second with 43. The gap was even larger when I calculated unearned runs as a percentage of total runs allowed. A whopping 14.8% of the runs surrendered by the Sox pitching staff have been unearned. The next worst percentage is again Kansas City at 11.5%. The league average is 8.1%. However, five teams has committed more errors than the Sox. The most annoying part of all of this is that the Yankees have committed only four fewer errors than Boston, but have given up 18 fewer unearned runs.

Breaking News: the Astros pick up Beltran. That's one fewer star that Steinbrenner can buy. Thank you, Astros!

Wal-Mart now faces a class action sex discrimination lawsuit filed by up to 1.6 million current and former employees. The suit charges that Wal-Mart discriminates against its female retail employees in pay and promotions. When reached for comment a Wal-Mart spokesman said "These allegations of sex discrimination are completely false. We treat all of our employees equally crappy."

I wanted to put my foot through my TV when I saw a report about two Army "soliders" named Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Huey who have fled to Canada to escape serving in Iraq. This story wouldn't be so upsetting if these two Army Privates were merely cowards, afraid to do the job that they were trained for. The more disgusting part of the story is that these two slugs are living large in Canada while being treated like heroes for betraying their country. These two "men" have hired publicists, built a website and are attending anti-America rallies to delight of many of our neighbors to North. Even worse, the Canadian Government is apparently considering granting the two traitors asylum. I have a little bit of sympathy for the men who fled to Canada to escape the draft during the Vietnam Era. Those men did not sign up for the military. Privates Hinzman and Huey have been earning a paycheck paid for with taxpayer dollars. My dollars and yours. Their dereliction of duty also means that two brave men not scheduled to go to Iraq will be going in their place. The replacements, whoever they are, will be risking their lives so these two dirtbags can party and burn American flags with unscrupulous Canadians. Hopefully, the Canadian Government will do the right thing and kick Hinzman and Huey out of the country. If not, someone needs to drive up to Canada, throw them in sacks, and drag them back to the United States so they can be arrested and thrown in prison for the maximum penalty allowed. Not surprisingly, the deserters have support in America, including crypt keeper Susan Sarandon.

Phil Jackson will be leaving the Lakers. Unfortunately, he probably won't be leaving the NBA permanently. There is nothing in sports more tiresome than Jackson's constant whining about officiating to the press. The remarkable thing about Jackson's crying is that no coach in the history of sports has benefitted more from friendly officiating than Phil Jackson. Jackson won six championships in Chicago mainly because defenders couldn't get within two feet of Michael Jordan without being called for a foul. With the Lakers, Jackson won in 2000 and 2002 because of egregiously favorable calls against the Blazers and Kings in the Western Conference Finals. Jackson has won nine championships but six of those were won with the best player in NBA history and three more came with the most dominant physical presence in the last three decades. Maybe we'll get a chance to see if Phil can win without extraordinary talent.

When Gary Payton signed for $5 million at the beginning of the year, who would have guessed that he would end up being overpaid?

Los Angeles area hospitals witnessed a 7,000% increase in ankle injuries this season as Laker "fans" jumped off and on the bandwagon an average of once per week. The bandwagon is nearly empty now that Phil Jackson is gone, Kobe has opted for free agency and Shaq has demanded a trade. Hollywood elites are already lining up for Pistons season tickets.

Random Notes - June 8, 2004

It's hard to believe that were are already in Year Eight of Interleague play in Major League Baseball. It's even harder to believe that after eight years the Red Sox have still not played the Cubs. It's been frustrating that the Sox have been playing the Braves every year while the Yankees have been allowed to beat up on the lowly Mets. This year the Braves and Mets are both mediocre. Unfortunately, the Red Sox will have to play the Phillies while the Yankees have two series' with the Mets.

I still like Interleague play, but I think it needs to be scaled back from 18 games to six games with each team playing three games against its geographic rival (if one exists) and three games against a rotating opponent. The Yankees should always play the Mets. The Cubs should always play the White Sox. The Red Sox do not need to play the Braves every year. The other rivalries that should be played every season:

Blue Jays-Expos (if the 'Spos stay in Canada)
Orioles-Expos (if the 'Spos move to DC or Northern Virginia)
Mariners-Expos (if the 'Spos move to Portland)
Marlins-Rays (like anyone cares)
Astros-Rangers
Giants-A's
Royals-Cardinals
Reds-Indians
Angels-Dodgers

We are now a little over one-third of the way through the season and the Sox are 34-23, 2 1/2 games behind New York in the AL East and 1 1/2 games ahead of Oakland in the Wild Card race. The Red Sox are on pace for a 97-65 record. I would say that is pretty good considering that Trot Nixon, Nomar Garciaparra and Bill Mueller have missed a total of 135 games. Those three players all batted above .300 and combined for 75 homeruns, 277 RBIs and 286 runs last season. Surprisingly, it is Trot Nixon who has been the most sorely missed among the three injured players. Kevin Youkilis has played very well in Mueller's absence, scoring nearly one run per game with an on base percentage of nearly .400. Pokey Reese has been as good as Nomar, if not better, defensively and Mark Bellhorn has done a decent job filling Nomar's place in the lineup. Bellhorn has produced 70 runs (runs + RBI - HR) in less than 200 at bats. Gabe Kapler, though solid defensively, has been an automatic out. His .268 on base percentage is, as the commercial says, a travashamockery. Cesar Crespo, Brian Daubach and Ellis Burks have been even worse filling the vacated positions left by Nixon and Garciaparra. The Yankees have been healthy for the most part, so the Red Sox and Angels should be very happy to be close to New York in the standings despite being devastated by injuries.

I'm happy that so many Sox fans have traded in their classless "Yankees Suck" shirts for the more clever "Yankee Hater" logo shirts and caps. Yes, the Yankees do in fact "suck" but that doesn't mean that a person should display that message across their chest. Quite frankly, it seems like a thing that a New Yorker would do.

It was a major relief to see Pedro Martinez toss a gem tonight against the Padres. The Sox Ace improved to 6-3 with a 3.98 ERA after beating San Diego. One of the stats of concern is the number of homers that Pedro has been surrendering. Between 1999 and 2003, Martinez gave up a homer once every 18.3 innings (26.7 innings last season). Even with tonight's solid outing, Pedro is giving up a dinger once every 8.4 innings in 2004. I fully expect Pedro to take his customary stint on the DL sometime around midseason. This would be a smart move since Pedro is now on pace to make 35 starts and pitch about 220 innings. He's averaged 30 starts and 193 innings over the past two seasons.

We are now one step closer to CSI: Waltham with the debut of CSI: New York in the Fall. Gary Sinise will follow in the footsteps of William Petersen and David Caruso and star in the new series. Now that they have picked the city and the show's cast, the only thing left to do is choose which Who song will be used for the theme (following "Who Are You?" and "Won't Get Fooled Again"). Here are my odds:

Baba O'Riley: 3-1 (great intro)
My Generation: 4-1 (maybe the most well-known Who song)
The Seeker: 10-1 (title fits the theme)
Behind Blue Eyes: 12-1 (probably too slow)
I Can See For Miles: 15-1 (lyrics fit the theme)
I Can't Explain: 50-1 (they always explain by the end)
Sister Disco: 100-1 (someone will bet on it)

The Lakers pulled another rabbit out their hats tonight to even the Championship Series at 1-1 as the teams head to Detroit. The Lakers were down six points with 30 seconds left before making another miraculous comeback. I have followed sports for 25 years and cannot recall a team, in any professional sport, that has enjoyed a run of luck like the Lakers have had over the past two months. In the last game of the regular season, Kobe Bryant hit not one, but two prayer shots to give the Lakers the Division title and a better seed in the playoffs. In the first round series, Houston gave away two of the first four games of the series. The Rockets should have been up 3-1. Instead they were down 3-1 and lost Game Five. Against San Antonio, the Lakers somehow managed to score off of an inbound pass with 0.4 remaining on the fourth quarter clock to win the pivotal Game Five (and it was Derek Fisher of all people). Against the T'Wolves, the Lakers would have been history if not for an injury to Sam Casell. Even with Casell out of the lineup, the Lakers needed a once-in-a-lifetime game by Kareem Rush (6-for-6 from behind the three point line) to eliminate Minnesota. The Lakers would have had little chance to win the series if not for tonight's comeback. Kobe Bryant actually missed the key shot with 35 seconds remaining but Rasheed Wallace's foolish touch foul on Shaq's rebound and basket kept the fortunate Lakers alive.

I'm going to lose it if one more professional athlete "guarantees" a victory in the playoffs. It was brash when Joe Namath guaranteed a victory in Superbowl III. Nowadays, it's just plain stupid. I think the pro leagues should institute a rule that if a player guarantees a win and his team loses, he will be forced to sit out until the team actually wins.

I liked Michael Moore better the first time .. when he was called Jane Fonda.

Moore walked away with the top award at the Cannes Film Festival for his documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, a film based on about as much reality as two other big summer movies, The Day After Tomorrow and Spiderman. The cheese-eating surrender monkeys gave Moore's film a huge standing ovation. No American has been this popular in France since Jerry Lewis in his prime.

Speaking of America-haters. I wonder how long it will be before someone tries to force Major League Baseball to ban the playing of the National Anthem before games. I'm very shocked that no one has filed a lawsuit against one of the Major League Baseball teams that play "God Bless America" during the 7th inning stretch.

What is going on in the State in Florida? Between 1975 and 2002, the Florida pro teams combined to win just one championship (the Florida Marlins in 1997) in a combined 112 seasons. Granted, seven of Florida's eight teams were expansion teams during that time. Since the beginning of 2003, however, three teams from the Sunshine State in three different sports have hoisted the championship trophy - the Tampa Bay Bucs and the Florida Marlins in 2003 and the Tampa Bay Lightning this past week. Maybe the state's college football prowess finally rubbed off on the pros.

NOTES ARCHIVE

Sox Notes - 2007

NCAA Tournament - 2007

AFC Championship (Jan 2007)

Sox Notes - 2006

NCAA Tournament - 2006

Feb-Mar 2006

Sox Notes - 2005

Pats Notes - 2005

NCAA Tournament - 2005

Superbowl XXXIX

Jan-Dec 2005