Small Market Sympathy

For all those baseball fans who deplore the small market vs. big market era the sport is now in, here is a story that you should sympathize with. Everton, one of the Premiership's small market clubs, lost it's wonder boy today. Wayne Rooney, an 18 year old striker, has left his hometown team for the bigger checks written by European powerhouse Manchester United. It's your basic small market vs. big market scenario, English soccer style.

Everton not only loses a hometown hero, but due to the fact the deal happened so close to the transfer deadline, they will get no immediate help to fill Rooney's void. To make matters worse for Everton's fans, to maximize the fianancial deal, Manchester United will need to reach certain goals. Most of which appear to be related to the club's performance in the Premiership and Champions League.

To get the most money out of Man. U., Everton fans are going to have to hope the Reds have a great deal of success over the next several seasons. Basically, they will have to root for the enemy to see their club gain financial strength.

I've never been much of a small market supporter (no, I'm not a Yankees fan), but deals like this one do leave me wondering how long sports, or more importantly, sports fans, can take this sort of thing?

Yellow?

I just flipped on the tv to watch the World Cup of Hockey game between the United States and Canada only to find the Canadians wearing yellow sweaters. Not Tour de France leader jersey yellow. I guess that would be even worse. No, the Canadian National Team is wearing a jersey that is mustard yellow. Think Pittsburgh Pirates of the early 1970's.

It's still got a big old red Maple leaf right in the middle, but the remainder of the top is mustard yellow and black. It also has a patch indicating something with Winnipeg on it. I assume it's a salute to an old franchise, but it was quite a shock to see the Canadians in yellow.

I'm sure there is a perfectly good reason for this change, but when the Canadians have so many truly sharp looking jersey combinations already, why go with mustard yellow?

(Update: During the post-game show on CBC, Ron McLean said that the yellow jerseys were in honor of the Winnipeg team that represented Canada at the 1928 Olympics in Antwerp. That team captured the gold medal.)

Here's Your Chance Baseball Geeks

Jim Hawkins, of The Daily Oakland Press (Michigan), is a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America. He is also serving on a special committee reviewing players not enshrined, but who merit a review. His column seems to imply that we should contact him with our ideas.

Here's your chance, fellow baseball geeks. Email Mr. Hawkins and let him know what you think. How often does anyone on the BBWAA even take suggestions? Give him some credit for that, too, when you contact him.

Transfer Deadline

Tuesday is the transfer deadline in the Premier League. I remain curious to see how Everton handles Wayne Rooney's request for a transfer. Manchester United and Newcastle United remain his primary suitors, although most everyone thinks it will be Man. U. who gains the young English striker.

As the hours tick away, I can only hope that if Everton does grab the cash for Rooney that they still have enough time to claim a couple of players that can help them this year.

Lions Diary

The march towards the regular season drags on. There is probably nothing worse in sports than the NFL's pre-season. Yeah, the football geeks amongst us love any and all football, but this pre-season vareity barely qualifies as football. Regardless, the Lions did play Saturday. Baltimore was the opposition.

The Ravens are very good defensively and looked like it in the first half. The Lions offense sputtered even with the first teamers in action. It really didn't get much better afterwards, either. The special teams still look horrible. The defense is tolerable. This week.

Individually, I liked the way Kevin Jones looked. Roy Williams caught his first passes of the pre-season, but he appears to be headed towards a typical rookie wideout season-inconsistent. Let's hope I am very wrong about that.

Thursday is the last exhibition tilt. Their is talk that none of the starters will play and that the Ford Field ushers and vendors will suit up for the second half. Even less than normal will be learned from the last glorified scrimmage of the year.

Sorry For The Delay

I realize I haven't posted much in recent days. It hasn't entirely been due to a lack of effort. I've been having some problems with Blogger loading (which has been terribly frustrating) and my PC has had issues in recent days. I apologize to the both of you who read this. I hope to post more consistently.

Olympic Recap

The Summer Games have concluded and I'm left with a few random thoughts and memories. I'm happy to see the U.S. Women's soccer team regain form and capture a gold medal. I'm one of those guys who still feels the women's World Cup victory, where Brandi Chastain made herself instantly famous, is one of the most overrated moments in sports history. That said, the core of this team, led by Mia Hamm, has elevated women's soccer to unimaginable levels in this country. They are pioneers in women's team athletics.

The women's hoops and softball squads were both terrific. The women's softball team was so good that their dominance threatens softball's future as an Olympic event.

What more can be said about the men's basketball squad? I'm sure I'll come up with something for a later post, but for now a bronze medal is about right considering the quality of play the U.S. side exhibited.

The U.S. swimmers were excellent, as they so often are. I suppose Michael Phelps is the big star of these Games.

Overall, this edition of the games will be noteworthy for the number of failed drug tests, indecisive decisions (see Paul Hamm) and the fact the event went off without a hitch (the tackling of a Brazilian marathon runner aside). Nice work, Athens.

More USA Basketball Perspective

Jason Whitlock, a writer I really like, offers a perspective on the U.S. Olympic Basketball team I tend to disagree with at ESPN.com. His Page Two feature implies that those rooting against the U.S. squad are borderline racists. He suggests that this team of NBA stars, contrary to public opinion, does care and is working very hard. He's wrong, in part, on all three counts.

First, let me clarify one thing. As upset as I am about the U.S. team's sloppy play, I have never rooted against them. Sorry, I can't. When Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan, LeBron James and their teammates agreed to play for the U.S., something that many other NBA stars passed on, they were my team. If that isn't the cool, politically correct, new world order thing to do, so be it.

However, just because I complain about them hardly qualifies me as a racist. Even a borderline one. Nor do I think rooting against them makes anyone a racist. While a certain percentage of those rooting against Team USA are certainly racists, that's not enough to suspect everyone of the same agenda. Some of us just don't like crappy basketball, especially when representing the United States on such a high profile stage.

Whitlock actually does a fine job dismissing his own assertions about caring and hard work. When he says that the U.S. men's basketball team cares about winning the Olympics, just not as much as swimmers and the track and field participants, that tells me they care, but only to a point. If you care, but only so much, are you really putting out your very best effort? If you aren't thrilled about practicing for the NBA season, the event you supposedly care most about, why would you really bust your behind to win a lesser title?

This is the reason such super patriots, as Whitlock calls people like me, are upset. I still place a high priority on winning the Olympic basketball tournament. Why? For the same reason Brazilians care about soccer and Canadians care about hockey. This is arguably the sport this country is known most for internationally. Our success is unmatched. To see the U.S. team struggle is not something I am going to accept happily.

I yell at this team, not because they are black or millionaires or NBA players. I yell because I want them to win the stinking gold medal. This usually gets me painted as jingoistic, not racist. Perhaps, this version of the U.S. Olympic basketball squad and I do have more in common than I thought. It seems no matter what we do, we are going to offend somebody.

Lions Diary

Due to all the OLB injuires, Teddy Lehman is moving from the middle linebacker to outside linebacker this weekend. The Oklahoma rookie, and Butkus Award Winner, was learning the inside spot behind Earl Holmes. Lehman will play the strong side spot, which this week means a close-up look at Ravens' tight end Todd Heap. That should be a very good initial test.

I'm sure the Lions' were counting on Lehman to contribute this year, but he may be more vital than ever with Boss Bailey's return from injury still undetermined.

Alien versus Predator

(Editor's Note: This is a non-sports related post. As always, I apologize in advance.)

It's time to close up Hollywood. Hot on the heels of Freddy versus Jason, a movie we were all impatiently awaiting, comes Alien versus Predator. Like the slasher movies that featured Freddy and Jason, both the Alien and Predator films had sequels all to themselves. Now, these two film legends meet in what we can only hope is a one-time deal.

Talk about originality. Starsky and Hutch, Charlie's Angels, S.W.A.T., Scooby Doo, Spiderman. Good thing for television, cartoons and video games or we might run out of feature film ideas altogether. Will the last one out of Hollywood please turn off the lights?

Rooney to Reds?

Pardon me as I take a quick aside. I see where Wayne Rooney may be sold to Manchester United. This is not good news. Yes, Everton needs the cash. Yes, even with Rooney the Toffees will be hardpressed to get near the top of the Premiership. Still, I don't like it. Everton fans just continue to suffer.

Stop The Dream Team Talk

Can we please stop referring to every Olympic Basketball team as The Dream Team? Now, with the men stumbling their way through Athens, the term is being given to the women's squad or even the softball team. Both are tremendously talented, but neither are dream teams by comparison.

That's the problem, of course, comparisons. The Dream Team, a.k.a. the 1992 U.S. Men's Olympic Basketball Team, was a once-in-a-lifetime assemblage. Led by Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan, arguably the three greatest players ever, that team rolled over everyone and dazzled the world. Not only was the team comprised of star players, but they were international celebrities playing a sport just reaching the pinnacle of it's worldwide appeal.

No other team will ever reach the status of the '92 squad and we should retire the term Dream Team, especially in basketball terms, in their honor.

Still Waiting For A Winner

For all those who follow Olympic athletics and wonder why their favorite sport never catches on, we need only look at the mess that is gymnastics. Paul Hamm may be, or may not be or may be one of two gold medal winners in the men's all-around. Of course, the event was completed days ago, but the "decision" is still up for debate.

It's bad enough so many sports are at the complete whim of judges, but to have the winner still not be official this many days later is plain ridiculous. It's time to place the sport's whose outcome is determined by judges into a separate class of exhibition events. Give out medals, perhaps lots of them, but de-emphasize their importance. If it's truly sport, the winners should be somewhat self-evident. Otherwise, it's an art contest and that comes down to personal preference not ability.

Abby's Road

Mia Hamm is the greatest women's soccer player ever. Even knowing as little as I do about soccer in general and the women's game specifically, I realize that. Something else I realize is that if the U.S. team is going to win a gold medal in Athens, much of that responsibility falls on the shoulders of Abby Wambach.

Wambach is the dominant goal scorer on the women's squad. She is probably the most dominant scorer in the world right now. That's doesn't make her the most complete player, Hamm still owns that moniker. However, Wambach has the unique ability to finish. Being a natural goal scorer is a trait few have. This quality has Wambach positioned to become the U.S. Women Team's most recognizable player once Hamm departs from the international scene after the Olympics.

Monday morning the U.S. women face Germany in a semi-final match. Don't be surprised if Abby Wambach scores. She usually does.

Brave Old World

I keep thinking the Atlanta Braves are going to fade away, but they don't. It's almost September and a quick look at the standings reveal the Braves are where they have been for over a decade, atop the National League's Eastern Division. It amazing really. Lose Greg Maddux and they win. Lose Tom Glavine and they win. Lose Gary Sheffield and they win. Lose Javy Lopez and they win. Have Chipper Jones suffer through the worst season of his career and they win.

Bobby Cox probably won't be the manager of the year, as Tony LaRussa is guiding the Cardinals to unexpected success, but he should be. I'm not a huge fan of Cox, as his moves have confounded me from time to time throughout his time in Atlanta, but there is simply no denying his ability to manage. He wins no matter what hand he has been dealt. He has lost Hall of Fame caliber talent (Maddux, Glavine, etc...) and picked guys up off the scrap heap (Julio Franco, Jaret Wright, etc...) and still led the Braves to the post-season.

I know many feel the Braves have underachieved, in light of their consecutive post-season appearances, but Cox and company deserve some credit for consistently producing winning baseball teams regardless of the environment.

Lions Diary

The Honolulu Blue and Silver played a game against the Cleveland Browns Saturday afternoon, but, truth be told, I didn't see it. I actually do step away from my television and internet connection occasionally. Sometimes, I am away from both for hours and that was the case Saturday. Rest assured, being the geek I am, I did have my radio on.

Now, I didn't hear much, as I was in and out of my vehicle, so I can't make any definitive statements. Here is what it sounded like to me: The special teams coverage is not very special. That's two weeks in a row. Once is a coincidence, twice is a trend. Three times is a pattern and you've got problems.

The first team offense, especially the Joey Harrington to Charles Rogers combo, is improving. Kevin Jones got in and showed some spark. (I guess sounded like a spark is more appropriate.) It's time to get Roy Williams the ball, though, isn't it? He gone two games without a pass. That just seems odd.

The D is still a question mark. I heard OLB James Davis got hurt. I'm not sure if it's serious, but if they lose Davis, with Boss Bailey already on the shelf, that's not a good thing. The defensive backfield continues to nurse injuries, but 3/4 of them should be ready for Chicago on the Opening Week.

I'm still typical optimistic about the team, but I'm 8-8 optimistic, not 12-4 optimistic.

Failure Occurs Before Games

The fingerpointing associated with USA Basketball just seems to get worse everyday. Today, we can throw coach Larry Brown into the mix. There's more than enough blame to go around, but it seems obvious that the biggest problem for USA Basketball is the selection process.

The U.S. has only lost three Olympic hoop contests. The 1972 controversial loss was part defeat, part Cold War intrigue. It didn't signal a change in the balance of basketball supremacy. The 1988 loss, which ushered in the NBA's participation, was engineered mostly by a poor selection process. John Thompson, the Hall of Fame coach, loved defense. It's what made Georgetown a college power. However, Thompson's love of D, had him pick Olympians that would get playing time on the Hoyas, not succeed in the international format.

This year's team is also widely being criticized as poorly assembled. I cannot disagree. That means one could argue that two of the three Olympic losses were due, in part, to a poor selection process. What USA Basketball needs to do is something Hockey Canada learned long ago. When Canada's hockey honchos select Team Canada for the Olympics, Canada Cup or World Cup events, they always take plenty of superstars plus a few helpful role players to complete the roster.

When hockey's premier national squad takes to the ice, they are not a Dream Team. They have a nice sprinkling of muckers and grinders to keep some balance and do the dirty work. It's a concept that USA Basketball needs to adopt.

Next time the U.S.A. is called into action, the big names of the NBA would be welcome. So, too, should some specialists. Like a rebounder and a three point guy. A mid-range jump shooter. Role players. Guys who won't pout if they spend more time on the bench than on the floor.

Now, taking two or three of these guys is going to leave a few NBA superstars outside looking in. That won't sit well with some of them. Too bad. Maybe one or two of them might learn it's an honor to play.

Sure, even if David Stern is talked into such a plan at the expense of marketing another would-be superstar, there is no guarantee it's going to work. The selection process could be criticized again, especially if the U.S. doesn't win. However, if Canada's hockey success is any indication, it's worth a try.

Oh, No.

Allow me a moment to stray from sports. I noticed tonight that there's a frost/freeze advisory for the northern reaches of Minnesota and Wisconsin. All I can think of is "Oh, no." Living in a northern state, and sharing the Big Ten Confernece with the Gophers and Badgers, this little weather note is not comforting. It means the cold is on the way. Not that the changing leaves, the loss of sunshine or shelves of pumpkin themed displays at stores didn't go unnoticed, but a frost/freeze advisory? In August?!?! That's just plain painful.

I love autumn. I always like them to last a bit longer than the calendar calls for. I just prefer them to go into overtime (lasting until January 1), not start in the pre-season (August).

The Astros' Lost Season

I feel sorry for Houston Astros fans tonight. Andy Pettitte was placed on the disabled list today. Roger Clemens drove in a couple of runs, using his bat for good, only to get pulled because of a leg injury suffered while running the bases. So much was expected for Texas' National League entry when they signed Pettitte and Clemens and it has all fallen apart.

Injuries and age seem to be the primary culprits in Houston's disappointing campaign. Even the mid-season addition of multi-talented Carlos Beltran hasn't elevated the 'Stros. I feel for Houston baseball fans. They have had some fine teams, going back to the Jose Cruz, Sr., Terry Puhl, Glenn Davis days, but they haven't had any post-season success. This year, with future Hall of Fame member Clemens and Pettitte aboard, things were going to be different. Unfortunately, it looks all too familiar.

Cha-Ching!

The United States' Men National soccer team played a World Cup qualifier in Kingston, Jamaica this evening. It was plain ugly from a U.S. perspective. I'm far from a soccer expert, but the U.S. squad appeared tentative early and never really emerged from that shell.

The home team went up 1-0 early in the second half and maintained that lead into the 88th minute. As time dwindled down, the Jamaican fans were getting ready to celebrate their first ever soccer win over the States. Fortunately, for the red, white and blue, sub Brian Ching found the back of the net with just under two minutes in regulation time. Ching knocked a pass from Landon Donovan into the top corner earning the U.S. a valuable point towards qualify for Germany 2006.

It wasn't pretty. It wasn't what most U.S. supporters had hoped for, but it looks good right now.