A-Rod? Really? This is the best we can do?
The most sensational (if manufactured) story of the day is the coverage of SI's cover story on A-Rod, which says more about the interesting (and increasingly rare) phenomenon of SI's ability to still drive the national conversation than it does about the shock value of the story, which seems both stale and unsurprising:
Update (11:37 a.m.): You know what? Nevermind on that "longer take." Does anyone really care about this non-story? Or, let's be honest: About A-Rod in general? He's worse than tolerated and even worse than mocked:
He's mostly ignored.(Except, obviously, by the media.)
So no special, stand-alone treatment on this story today. The sports world is going to have to come up with something a little more interesting.
Still, right now, my vote would go to Hoffman, who leads MLB in saves (40) AND is 3 saves away from setting the all-time saves record. The capper, of course, is that if the season ended today, his team would be in the playoffs.
The little love-fest between Ozzie Guillen and Ken Williams about who's to blame for the ChiSox likely failure to make the playoffs this season is nice, but doesn't change the situation.
Ryder Cup preview: Reclaiming jingoistic glory lost by the USA Hoops team.
Canes stop loving Coke? I think I spotted the first MSM story about who will replace Larry Coker at Miami. My pick: Ex-Canes assistant and current Rutgers coach Greg Schiano?
Oklahoma still complaining: Fans were on their side on Sunday and indulgent on Monday, but by yesterday, the sympathy had evaporated and fans now consider it whining.
And, of course, an "Emmittric Bugaloo" update: Emmitt Smith once again out-performed expectations on Dancing with the Stars last night. Here's how big of a star he has turned into on this show: They saved him for the final slot of the night. Dance, Emmitt, dance!
One more, added late: I am a longtime, obvious and transparent fan of Deadspin. Here's one of the more fascinating posts Will has done -- along with a very contentious comments section.
-- D.S.
Posts
21 comments:
F#@# Trevor Hoffman. He single-handedly blew the All Star Game. Now the Series won't be starting at Shea.
The Yankees magic number is now 1. Which brings up the question: which streak is more impressive, the Yankees' division streak (about to be 9), or the Braves' recently ended streak. I'm leaning towards the Yankees' streak. Yes, they outspend everybody. But they've been dealing with an opponent (the Red Sox) that hasn't had a problem spending almost as much. The Braves, on the other hand, didn't have any monetary competition in the East until the Mets opened up their pockets two seasons ago.
A snarky Methuselah reference. Didn't know you were such an Old Testament buff. So what does that make Julio Franco? Hmm, maybe Enoch since he never did pass away.
I never knew Jerry Springer was so funny, only that his show was contrived and stupid.
Good point on fans getting tired of Oklahoma's whining. The same thing happened with Seattle after the Super Bowl. Sure, I thought the refs ripped them off and basically handed the Stealers the Super Bowl. But come on, I dont want to hear Holmgren whining about it months later. It happens in sports, it sucks, but it happens. So Oklahoma just needs to move on.
Does Trevor Hoffman really have much steam as the Cy Young when the two biggest stories he's been involved in all year were
a) All-Star blown
b) Letting up 2HRs in 2 pitches 2 days ago?
That's a not what one would consider a lofty resume. Then again, it's the NL and no one is really that good
NL Cy Young -
Hoffman? Wha?
Webb or Carpenter is the choice. And it will depend on who finishes the season the best.
And the Titans QB situation is being driven by the owner. Bud Adams wants to stick it to Houston so bad he's going to have VY starting in time to play Houston, no matter if VY is ready for the NFL or not.
A-Rod stopped being "relevant" the day he signed with the Rangers, claiming that it wasn't about the money, but about the desire to win.
Hellooooo??? Perhaps A-Rod didn't notice, but the Rangers, at that point, had no pitching. A-Rod's contract prevented the Rangers from being able to afford said pitching. And the team didn't win squat with A-Rod on board.
A friend of mine once said that A-Rod could hit .400 with RISP ... but ... he'd hit .128 with RISP in situations where the runs mattered in the outcome of the game, and hit .650 with RISP when the Yankees were hopelessly behind.
Sure, .400 with RISP *looks* good ... but not when you realize that those hits only come when the pressure is at the lowest.
Brien
Thanks for linking to the Gammons story. What an incredibly classy individual. He is, without a doubt, the sports journalist I most respect. And it's more a statement on his greatness than an indictment of his colleagues that I can't easily produce a name for second place on my list.
What the fuck is SI?
unsilent:
SI is Sports Illustrated
A-Rod isn't biracial. He's about as Latino as J-Lo and apple pie.
As for the Steelers/Seahawks..cmon..noone obviously remembers the game. Only ONE of the calls was wrong. The rest were right. Any fan who bleats the mantra of "but you don't enforce the rule in that situation" is full of it.
Anyways...we need more NHL love Dan. Preseason has started.
I've completely stopped following baseball for the season. I am not sure why either, but it just seems very boring. Do we need more reasons why Football is now the American pasttime?
Dan~
When are we going to get a story about your exit from ESPN??
I thought Emmitt danced like a robot last night...wasn't he supposed to be turning his head like his partner?
Some of the girls got higher scores than I thought they should have....what the heck am I doing!? This is supposed to be a sports blog! haha
So we're ignoring his performance in the greatest game of the season--36 hours after it happened? Instant History doesn't run out that fast, Dan.
Also worth mentioning:
1.)Peter Gammons' first article back to ESPN. I'm at work and wanted to shed a tear. What a grateful guy, and really the best baseball analyst out there.
2.)I agree with Jen. When do we get your ESPN story, Dan?
3.)Lastly, I can't beleive that people are so protective of their money-- they'd resort to this: http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/09/20/chasingmoney.ap/index.html .
Heck, I'd agree. I'd probably jump if it were 30-40 feet. But that's mostly because I spend a lot of time during the summers jumping off bridges and cliffs, etc. 20 bucks is 20 bucks.
speaking of leaving ESPN, does anyone know what really happened with Harold Reynolds?
Dan, can we get a thread on this:
White and Nerdy
Obviously, we are forgetting the two straight jacks Hoffman gave up to blow the save (on TWO pitches nonetheless) against the Dodgers. If he DIDN'T blow that, they would have already been in first.
As for DWTS, I tried to tell everyone before it even started that Emmitt would be one of the favorites..."Emmitt will go far in the competition, you saw how great his feet were on the field, now we will on the dance floor."
Anyone else paying attention to the B-squad (not one regular STARTED, and only two got time with pinch hit at-bats [Reyes and Valentin]) Mets beating the Marlins? I actually wanted to see the Marlins make the post season just for story alone. Alas, we might have to deal with stupid Philly and their a-hole fans.
LOL at marcomarco. That song is awesome and Wierd Al is an unheralded genious.
With that being said, I loved the Gammons article, even if I couldn't read the entire thing (I don't have Page 2 access).
Regarding Volek to the Chargers, the rumors I heard is that he throught the Titans starting job was practically his before training camp began and he came unprepared. He didn't even know Norm Chow's new offense. He has the tools but he sucked it up for himself by being lazy. Now he is stuck being a backup again.
Dan your hatred for everything Yankees, Red Sox is laughable at times. Jeter could hit 40 homeruns, 150 rbi's and youd try to find a reason to give MVP to someone else.
As for the A-Rod story, SI and the rest of the media are lame for making this big of a deal of it. I dont know how some of these people wake up every day knowing their only job in life is to find people in their most vulnerable moments and provoke the shit out of them as much as possible until they crack/snap.
As for Peter Gammons, it's good to see him back and his article was heartwarming. His Red Sox bias gets to me at times though.
How could you not mention Julio Franco? (or Enoch as wonki78 called him) He plays 3rd base for the first time in 24 yrs and settled right in, unlike some other 3rd baseman that's leading this post today.
Also am really glad Gammons is back, great 1st column back. His Hall of Fame speech is one of my all time favorites.
Julio Franco is the best. He is almost 50 and is still playing baseball, and like a previous poster said, he's still stealing bases!
Hello, the 23 year olds playing for the Indians aren't even stealing bases!
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