Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Tuesday 01/30 A.M. Quickie:
Barbaro, KG and Super Bowl Media Day

Super Bowl XLI Media Day is here, the annual symbol of Super excess. More on that (in its own post) a little later this morning. Meanwhile...

Barbaro Euthanized, The Day After: In the frenzy of attention (and even grief) in the last 24 hours, it's worth asking:

What attracted fans to Barbaro's story? Our common love of a great animal story? A sport with an important historical legacy (but archaic value today) with its last great myth? And, obviously: His brief, brilliant career -- his vast potential, tragically cut short?

It was easy to watch the spectacle of anthropomorphic love that human fans assigned to an animal athlete. But this morning, you realize it's a little tougher. It IS the death of an athlete. And not just any athlete, but arguably the Athlete of the Year from 2006.

UPDATE: On an early-morning plane ride today, I was continuing to think this over, and I decided that if I could write this post again, I would go with a "Quickie Vocab" approach and coin the word: "Fanthropomorphism," which means "Sports fans who project human qualities onto animals or sports-related inanimate objects." (No, I wasn't flying down to Miami. Ha!)

Meanwhile, when I want the best horse-racing analysis, I always check out Andy Beyer from the Washington Post. Here's his take on Barbaro.

I also recommend the coverage by Joe Drape, who writes about horse racing as well as any reporter in the country.

Super Bowl XLI: The Colts arrived yesterday. The Bears had already gotten a practice in. I think one team wants it more.

Yeah, right: With one extra day to be lured by South Beach, maybe getting to Miami early isn't such an advantage.

Two words should set the rule-of-thumb for players: Early. Curfew. I know it might be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but is it so hard to stay focused on the REAL goal of winning the game?

SB XLI Media Day Mania: Again, coming later this morning. And if you want the BEST Radio Row coverage of SB XLI, you've got to follow SportsBloggersLive. (They've got Spain Mania!)

An "Oh-Sweet-Goodness" Update: Matt Ufford of Kissing Suzy Kolber and WithLeather is going to Miami... with an invite to the Penthouse party. Hide the children everyone. I'm obviously biased, but bloggers will offer the best on-site coverage in Miami, precisely because they have no business being there.

NBA On-Court: KG had 44 points and 11 rebounds in his best effort in years, helping the lowly T'wolves snap the Suns' 17-game winning streak.

NBA Off-Court: Maybe Latrell Sprewell DOES need all that money to feed his family. The mother of four of his kids has sued him for $200 million in a palimony dispute.

MLB: Bonds deal done? You can now officially say goodbye to Hank Aaron at the top of the record books. Bonds passing Aaron will be THE sports event of 2007.

More MLB: The Red Sox won't get Todd Helton. Meanwhile, Curt Schilling won't retire after the 2007 season. (Just ask him.) He's planning to return in '08, too. His life as a TV analyst will just have to wait.

Cowboys coaching search: Mike Singletary will interview today, but why would Dallas hire a young, up-and-coming coach when they so obviously have Jason Garrett waiting in the wings to take over?

College Hoops: Pitt for real this season? Solid win over Villanova on ESPN last night makes me think that maybe – maybe – this is finally the year that Pitt lives up to its great regular season with a run to the Final Four. It's a down year for the Big East, so it's easy to overlook them. Tracking...

Meanwhile, I love the "BracketBuster" concept. It's probably the best thing to happen to the college-hoops regular-season, precisely because it is made-for-TV and precisely because it boosts mid-major teams and precisely because it gives fans who love to accurately pick March Madness brackets the chance to watch teams that might be the next George Mason. This year's schedule was unveiled yesterday. Butler versus "So. Ill." is the headliner, but I want to know: Where is Air Force?

This OJ Mayo story is getting more interesting: He was thrown out of a game Friday after allegedly bumping a ref. But when you watch the video, that looks pretty sketchy.

Check it out here. (The station must have told YouTube to take down the clip, because it's only available here.) The ref has obviously become the central character/villain in the story.

Consequently, Mayo was suspended for tonight's high-profile (read: televised) game. That won't do: Not for the biggest talent in high school hoops this season in his most high-profile TV appearance.

As usual, it went from blogosphere sensation to mainstream media, which will only help Mayo's case to be reinstated quickly. Why the urgency? Fairness, sure, but also his own publicity machine.

UPDATE: OJ Mayo got a temporary injuction to play tonight. Of course he did.

Did you read Warren St. John's New York Times story about the youth soccer team of refugees? Here's the story behind his movie deal, via the Wall Street Journal.

It's me vs. Melo! Can the growth of my new MySpace page keep pace with Carmelo Anthony's? That's the challenge. Be sure to help the effort!

-- D.S.

75 comments:

Andrew (JUhS) said...

Please, that horse gets (er, got) better healthcare coverage than my dad. I don't want to see anyone/thing suffer and die or whatever, but come on. We're people, it's just a horse.

Why was it so funny when Deadspin mocked the Barbaro get well posters? Because when it comes down to it, most of us realize that people who get so worked up over a horse are a little crazy.

And I'm not buying the fact that he was "athlete" of the year or some sort of racing miracle. It seems almost every year we have that one "this is finally the year for the triple crown" horse. Why was Barbaro any different? This whole ordeal was farcical to a ridiculous degree, and I'm glad it's over.

Uhh ... wow, yeah ... so, the Super Bowl. Alright!

(And if Bonds breaking the HR record is the biggest story in 2007 sports, it's going to be a really long year...)

Andrew Martinez said...

Mike Singletary... oh yeah we have to have to interview a minority.

KG... he's still in Minnesota, damn.

Barbaro + Euthanization = Elmers

Pembrokers said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
TJ said...

Whenever an (human) athlete dies, or faces some sort of adversity, or wins a Super Bowl, people tend to try to really deify the guy. I guess we just like to worship our athletes--the kind of sentiment that gets movies like Field of Dreams made. And more often than not, if he stays on the public stage long enough, we'll find out the guy is human after all, and flawed. Like Kobe.

With an "athlete" like Barbaro, there's no chance of disappointment. People can throw words like "brave" and "noble" at a horse, and the horse will never do anything to prove them wrong. Well, except for that horse drug-scandal thing...

Anyway, I really think that's where this comes from. People want a heroe, want to be inspired. And a horse can't let them down. They can project whatever qualities, strengths and emotions they want to on the animal.

The tragedy of it is that people's need for this sort of emotional satisfaction can lead to something like the Barbaro situation--where an animal with almost no chance of survival has to live through months and months of (painful?) recovery, so people can have something to believe in? Or maybe it's not a tragedy--maybe it's worth one animal suffering if it allows enough people to manufacture some hope, courage, sympathy, whathaveyou.

Josh said...

.500 record, I'd hardly say the Wolves were "lowly."

The Mark Show said...

Athlete of the year? Pleaes tell me you're kidding, Dan. In my opinion horses shouldn't even enter the discussion but at the very least for a horse to even be considered the Triple Crown has to be a requirement. Every year a horse wins the Kentucky Derby. Should we automatically put that horse in the Athlete of the Year discussion? Because really that's all Barbaro did, win the Derby. Just because the media coverage was blown immensely out of proportion doesn't mean he's any more worthy of Athlete of the Year status than the winner of the Preakness or Belmont Stakes, and I can't name either of those horses. I empathize with those who truly cared about the horse but I can't say I'm sad to see this story finally come to an end.

Unknown said...

Singletary is probably the token interview. But...with the Cowboys job...all of the friggin' interviews are token. Garrett will be coach in 2 years.

I suppose a guy like Singletary could take thejob...try out a few things..then head out in 2 years. It's not like anyone would hold this job against him if he does poorly.

Natsfan74 said...

Bonds breaking the record is not a lock this year. His power was down last year, and he is a year older and 2 more surgeries removed from his best power years. If he does break it, it will be almost as much of a non-story as him passing Ruth, simply because people don't care about Bonds any more. I can't even believe I just dedicated 4 sentences of my time to him.

It would be great to see Singletary coach the Cowboys (even though I hate them). He is an up-and-coming coach with a great defensive mind. He would be paired with a good offensive coordinator (potentially?) with some quality players in place (if TO and Romo are quality). Even if it is just a 2-year placeholder gig, it is hard to imagine he couldn't get a decent playoff team in those two years and then move on to a franchise that really wants him. In the next 2 years, he may see openings in NYG, Chicago (if they don't start paying Lovie), Tennessee, Carolina, Oakland, San Diego, Denver.... ah, the possibilities are endless.

But, alas, my guess is he waits until next year when the San Diego job is his after another Marty Meltdown.

If OJ Mayo gets to play in the next game, even if the "bump" was a non-issue, it will just further his thug life status. TV or not, he needs to sit the bench and any coach or administrator who bends a rule for tv time should not be allowed to work with kids ever again!

Patriots64 said...

Bonds will be a huge story and he will break the record this year.

Big D said...

"the spectacle of anthropomorphic love..."

Dude, seriously. It is way too early in the morning for my brain to digest big words like that.

Mega said...

ITS A HORSE NOT A HUMAN!

There, I said it.

SIU versus Butler to be the "teams to watch" this year in the tourney? George Mason came out of no where last year. SIU has a team that could make it to the Sweet 16 (as do 2 other teams in the MVC)and nobody should be shocked (and if they were, they don't know much about college b-ball).

I'm just wondering if that same guy will be back this year...the guy last year who said that mid-majors didn't belong in the tournament...what was his name again? Ah who cares, he didn't belong on the air.

mattie said...

What attracted fans to Barbaro's story?

Fans?!?! Ask instead why the media, including ESPN spent SO MUCH TIME covering a FREAKIN' HORSE! Outside of the media, there are some over-enthusiastic animal/horse/racing-lovers who were interested in the story, but the idea that this was a story of mainstream interest has always, to me, been a farce. What happened at the Preakness sucked, but come on. This story was the most overblown/over-reported in the last year or so (and yes, that includes all things T.O.). At least now the story's over!


It IS the death of an athlete. And not just any athlete, but arguably the Athlete of the Year from 2006.

Is that supposed to be a joke?


As far as the Superbowl goes, I doubt the one day makes a difference, but there's nothing else to report on until the Media Day spectacle begins, so we can run with it for another couple of hours. I say, it shows the Colts are worried about being overwhelmed by the Superbowl while the Bears are staying focused! Yeah! ;)


I think the Spreewell story is pretty funny. The Mayo video isn't working for me...

Unsilent Majority said...

P
I
T
T

P-I-T-T LET'S GO PITT!

UconnFan32 said...

I have a very random question to help settle a late night discussion with my brother. Does anyone know where I can look up how much NBA players bench press either on average or in particular Richard Hamilton or Tayshaun Prince. Thanks!

solomonrex said...

Let's gooo Orrr-ange!
~clap~~clap~clapclapclap~!
Let's gooo Orrr-ange!

RevScottDeMangeMD said...

I said this yesterday...OJ Mayo is an unbelievable talent with a crazy attitude to go with it.

You all may have lost that comment when guyinthecorner re-posted his novel on HS basketball.

TBender said...

SIU and Butler should not be playing in that BracketBuster set. If they both finish out, they're in the field anyway - Butler's ranked #11!

That said, go Salukis!

jhawkjjm said...

Saw the video about Mayo... definately deserved the two T's. There's a reason the anchor is working at small market station with his WWE comments. It's not hard to shove someone to the floor when they're walking. Viscious...no? But he did bump him and you learn (supposedly) as a 8 year old that you never ever ever touch an official.

I hate the fact that espn televises high school sports. It's ridiculous and sad. I think its made these high school "phenoms" think the world revolves around them and they're some sort of superstar celebrity. I'm surprised LeBron seems so level headed. Mayo seems like a thug, which is exactly why Huggins was recruiting him the last two years.

Geoff said...

Oh please, the horse isn't an athlete. It runs because that is what horses do. Just happened to be faster than the other horses. Let me see him dunk a basketball or score on a break-away while wearing skates, then we can call him an athlete.

nep1293 said...

That OJ Mayo video was pretty weird. Granted, we don't know what was said but that official really seemed as if he was trying to give the kid the Montreal Screwjob. Manu Ginobili wouldn't have gone down from that contact.

I felt bad during the Preakness when Barbaro got hurt. It was sad the way he kept lifting his leg. That was 8 months ago and realistically everyone knew that the horse would end up being put down. It's not really a big deal.
And athlete of the year is just ridiculous.

Liz said...

I know that Barbaro was "just a horse" but come on people! The story wasn't just about him, it was about triumph over adversity and beating the odds. People love those stories, which is why it got so much media attention. I'm not writing Barbaro cards or anything, but I do think it was a great story, even though it got overblown. Even though he only won the Kentucky Derby, he was so good that he had the potential to win the Triple Crown, and the fact that no one will ever know what could have been made the whole story even better. Why couldn't a horse be considered an athlete? They are worth millions of dollars, train to compete, and there's even talk of steriod use. Sounds like a typical athlete to me! RIP Barbaro

TJ said...

It was kinda hard to tell what was going on in the Mayo video, other than... did that ref at the end take a dive? Sure looked like it.

Unknown said...

It wasn't a novel revscott, it was a short story.

But seriously, Mayo is frickin' incredible. It deffinitly appears that the ref took a dive and the 2nd tech looked bogus as well.

Dan, I don't think the game is televised. The one that is televised is when Huntington plays St. Patrick on December 22.

This game should be good even if Mayo is suspended though. Artesia is ranked #11 in the country and Huntington is ranked #2.

Wow, I can't wait till CMFOST gets here.

Geoff said...

That is what cats do. Your cat isn't anything special.

Patriots64 said...

According to Kornheiser, 24 has jumped the shark. Thoughts?

Ricks said...

geoff - what about that bird that dunks basketball and putts? He's apparently an athete by your standards...

Barbaro was a great horse with a lot of promise, undefeated career etc. But what gets me is that people are going apeshit about him dying. Horses get put down every single day on the track from injuries exactly like his. He was only kept alive because his owners knew he was worth a gold mine at stud.

TJ said...

what about that bird that dunks basketball and putts?

And dont forget the waterskiing squirrel. How he missed out on the SportsCentury list of greatest athletes continually confuses me.

Brian in Oxford said...

I happened to watch comedy central last night, and windows vista was advertising the whole show, and they swiped the end music from This Week in Baseball for a minute-long ad. Although it was cool to hear, it was still depressing a bit to hear tied to an ad.

(Simmons' book mentions the actual name of the song....something about Clouds. I suppose I could google it.)

Is Mayo enough of a thug that there's any chance he doesn't finish high school?

Lastly, on Barbaro, will anyone accidentally mix up a bottle of Barbaro cum with a bottle of Barbaro glue and sell the wrong thing?

marcomarco said...

That athlete of the year crap is just to generate a buzz. Dan's obviously looking for 75 comments saying "HE'S A FRIGGIN HORSE"

er, make that 76.

Chad said...

I was waiting for the waterskiing squirrel comment. Thank you Troy for coming through for me.

Who is going to be this years stand out interview during media day? MarHar? Tank? What Colt is going to say anything which is a cut against the Bears. I hope it is Booger. Just because I like hearing someone's youth nickname to describe them as an adult. Lovie needs to keep the NFC Champion Bears in the underdog, us against the world, mindset.

bbom said...

ricks said "He was only kept alive because his owners knew he was worth a gold mine at stud."

That is absolutley the only reason he was kept alive, $$$$$$. It's a "friggin horse" (#77).

Andy said...

This is all I'm going to say about Barbaro...

As for Mayo, it looked a little sketchy but like ohters have already said, this is exactly why HS sports should NOT be televised. The production is segnificantly worse and it's hard to get all the facts.

In the Super Bowl, I really don't think there will be many problems this week. THe Colts are led by Dungy, a devout Christian. He is not going to let his players do anything stupid. Plus, their players have never really been in trouble (minus the whole Nick Harper and his wife thing). Smith is the same way, but he also has to deal with Tank Johnson. I would hope that Johnson realizes he's in enough trouble already and keep out of it.

I really don't think Bonds will break the record. He has shown he can't stay healthy. He's old. Getting enough HR's is a stretch. And Bochy is the new manager there and he won't put Bonds in a lineup just to get a record. He wants to win and if he believes Bonds hurts their chances of winning, he'll bench him in a heartbeat.

Geoff said...

Cause most people can't jump high enough to dunk a basketball. Most people aren't big enough or strong enough to play football. A bird on a little fake basketball court doesn't really count. Put him on a regulation court while being covered by Ben Wallace and dunk a regular ball and I'll consider it.

In the meantime, a horse isn't an athlete. It is just a horse. It runs because it has nothing else to do.

Andy said...

Slow comment day. Where is everyone?

BLUE said...

This week's 24 blog entry is up. Let me know what you think.

24 blog

Big D said...

@ daddy rosee:

I can't wait until Bonds comes to Fenway this season. Even though he'll probably develop some phantom ailment to keep him in the dugout for two of the three games.

And he thought it was rough in Boston before he slammed the city and came to town with a shot at breaking the record? Oh man... Scalpers will have a field day for that series.

ToddTheJackass said...

So has anyone else noticed that Onion sports is now 2 for 2 in predicting stories recently?

They had a 'story' on Bill Parcells talking about how he hates football a couple weeks before he quit with the Cowboys, and at least a week ago posted a picture of a bleeding Barbaro next to a gun with the title "Barbaro Euthanizes Self". I love the Onion, and the fact that they've been spot on recently has been pretty morbidly fantastic.

Andy said...

Bonds won't sell tickets this year though. Everyone is tired of him. It took him 4 months to get a dang contract!! No one cares about him. Bochy wants to win and if Bonds hurts those chances, he'll bench him.

Unknown said...

Tony Dungy is a devout Christian, so Tony Dungy won't get in trouble in Miami. His players will have to use their own brains.

To think that he would have that kind of leash on his players is ridiculous.

Still, aside from Reggie Wayne channeling his days at the U, the Colts seem to have enough character guys to stay in line.

Mikepcfl said...

I cant believe i am going to post again on a horse, but since so many people are going crazy over it...

The last reason the owners kept Barbaro alive was for stud fee $$$. Every vet said immediately that there was no way he could ever be a stud because his injured hind legs would never support him to do the deed. The owners knew this right away. The owners are super rich (Standard Oil money) and that allowed them to try and keep Barbaro alive. So criticize them for being mega-rich in the first place or for everyone for putting so much emotion into a horse, but they did not try to save him for stud $$$.

Buda said...

This mistake is being repeated everywhere, but Mayo was not suspended for bumping the referee. He received two technicals in a game and according to league rules is suspended for the next two games because of that.

The referee may look like he took a dive, but that is completely irrelevant as Mayo wasn't punished for bumping the ref.

BLUE said...

Here is the 24 blog again. I think the html isn't working right on the page today for some reason.

http://ben-24blog.blogspot.com/

Sheldiz said...

re: Pitt being for real...

i do agree that they are for real, but their performance last night is definitely not the reason.

they pulled it out in the end, but it was an un-dominating performance against an unranked team.

had Villanova not shot themselves in the foot (i'm looking at you, Nardi) in the last 3 minutes, it would have been quite a different story.

good win for pitt? sure... but it doesn't give me that "holy shit, this is a final four team!" feeling.

and while we're doing cheers: "V for Villanova, V for Victory!" (um, just not in the past three days.)

:)

BLUE said...

@ mikepcfl

I understand that the owners of barbaro already had a ton of money. But if they weren't keeping him alive for stud fees, then why did they pump it out of him multiple times before he died? There are other ways to "stud" out a horse other then letting them loose in a pasture. And, for that matter, if quality of life was a question for these owners, how did they improve it for the stupid horse. He was in pain for the last 8 months, put him out of his misery. And i can't believe i just had to write all of this.

CMFost said...

OK, WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL BBALL? This is the problem with WWL they over promote everything for a story and then the blogs pick it up and we have to rehash something that is not important.

I said it yesterday High School sports should NEVER be shown on National TV. Leave these kids alone they have enough pressure growing up. Let alone having the media add pressure to it.

CMFost said...

AS for Bonds he will only be the biggest sports story on the WWL becuase the rest of us hope he either gets suspended, goes to jail or has a season ending injury that keep him from breaking the record.

CMFost said...

And just to clear one comment I made yesterday. I do not think there is a consipricy to see Manning win the Super Bowl but I would not be surprised if like last years Super Bowl when the officating tilted towards one team over the other that the same thing happen this year and it just happened to favor Peyton's team.

Unknown said...

Hell with that damned horse.

What are you on drugs? Athlete of the year for a horse? I couldn't give a crap about horse racing and nobody that I know under 50 years of age cares either. The best thing about Barbaro dying is I won't have to read about it anymore.

Brian in Oxford said...

How about cloning him, if he's that special?

Heck, or cloning any racehorse....

CMFost said...

The only reason Barbaro is such a story is the potential he showed to be one of those great horses everyone remembers only to have his career cut short by an injury. And with all the instant history we get from Dan and the WWL it is hard for it not to be a big story.

TBender said...

I have a cat who blew out his ACL. Does that make him an athlete?

(And yes, he had surgery to fix it.)

Unknown said...

OJ Mayo cleared to play:

http://www.wvnstv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=19334

CMFost said...

daddy I am not trying to Taint the colts win if they win. I actually think that if it is a well officiated game then the Bears will win and win by at least a TD.

RevScottDeMangeMD said...

@buda: THANK YOU! Ohio has the same rules. If you get kicked out of a game, you sit for 2. Actually, I think the NCAA has the same rule also.

@cmfost: We are talking about high school basketball because OJ Mayo is the best player to come out of high school since Lebron. Maybe better. Now putting them on TV...I think that is wrong. But I do enjoy talking about HS sports and recruiting.

RevScottDeMangeMD said...

Oh...and the fact that OJ gets to play is bullshit.

CMFost said...

By Herald staff
Sunday, January 28, 2007

Picture this: You’re watching your nightly dose of “SportsCenter” and the Top 10 plays are ticking down:
# No. 3: Another dunk that looks slightly better than the dunk that logged in at No. 5.

# No. 2: Another home run that looked a lot like the one that left the park at No. 6.

# No. 1: Chuck Liddell pounding unmercifully on some poor guy’s face before the ref finally pulls him off.
Huh?
That’s right. ESPN may soon hop on the UFC bandwagon.


more at sports.bostonherald.com

Natsfan74 said...

Mayo was ejected before he even bumped the ref by virtue of receiving 2 technical fouls. The 1st tech was for taunting after the dunk. The 2nd was for responding to the 1st.

How does a HS basketball team get 3 lawyers? Why is there a lawyer for an assistant coach?

More importantly, how can the judge overturn the suspension? It looks pretty clear -- he got ejected, he sits 2 games. The other 5 players might be able to argue theirs -- maybe -- as they came off the bench to end the melee, not to contribute (see Pacers).

CMFost said...

daddy rosee I can almost get that if I said the Colts were going to win you would go against me. You seem to be an antagonist like that.

marcomarco said...

daddy rosee 1/22/2007 10:10:00 AM
chokity choke choke choke


Antagonist? Him? Naw...

marcomarco said...

Out of morbid curiousity, what is the job title of the 'stud extractor'?

"Equestrian wanker"

What does that individual's resume look like?

Brian in Oxford said...

Maybe you guys can be each other's nemesis.

CMFost said...

right now I consider daddy rosee my Newman!!!

Patriots64 said...

Cmfost and Daddy Rosee are a couple? I did not know that.

Aitch said...

I don't know what is more entertaining, coming here to read the sports commentary or to see who is feuding with Daddy Rosee or Ferocious Bluebird on that given day. Ease up boys and girls, it's just a sports blog. :-)

CMFost said...

If you are a hockey fan you need to check this out. It is a pretty sweet goal scored during the AHL all-star game shoot out contest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y60itpHdRc

Brian in Oxford said...

That was a pretty neat goal, cmfost.

I've always argued that in sports, it's about 25% of "what you can do" and 75% of "who you can do it against".

Hey, I can hit three-point jumpers, or very slowly stickhandle the puck behind my back....I just can't do it with guys in my face too well. I can throw a 10-yard slant pass....just not with Urlacher about to kill me, and more likely than not, the DB in tight coverage.

Obviously there's stuff I can't do....dunk....hit a 5-iron....hit an overhead smash at the net without hitting it INTO the net...

The ability to overcome the world's best defenses is what separates the pros from the weekend warriors.

Mikepcfl said...

Did you see that Kobe got suspended for that elbow against Gninobli (sp) the other day? I hate Kobe with a passion, but even i cant believe that he got a 1 game suspension. The league is trying to take away all contact.

Unknown said...

WOW.

I also just saw that Kobe was suspended.

I've seen the replay and I can't make heads or tails of this suspension.

Since when does INADVERTANT CONTACT IN THE ACT OF SHOOTING warrant a suspension?

Methinks, since it was Kobe.

Unknown said...

This clip was the Raja Bell clothesline in the Playoffs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7V8ZukXsWmk

Now go watch the ESPN MOTION clip on the Manu Ginobili play on the front page of the WWL.

Did you notice that Raja smiles in the clip?
I'm sure Kobe is telling the truth about going over to Duncan and the Spurs bench to check if he's OK. He couldn't lie, the Spurs would say that he was.

So Kobe hits a guy in the act of shooting inadvertantly and is genuinly sorry and concerned.
Raja does a clothesline that had to have been premeditated to a guy he notoriously hates and smiles afterward.

1 game suspensions for both?
This is so biased it's insane.
I'm no big Kobe or Lakers fan, but seriously.

Big D said...

Jesus... I picked a good day to try to actually get somthing accomplished at my desk and stay away from the InstaWebs...

People are developing nemesis' all over the place now. Maybe it's a good thing me and lenny/andy got everything cleared up yesterday. I don't know if the comments section could handle two feuds... :)


As for some of the other stuff being bantied about on here today:

The Kobe suspension is ludicrous. He hit a guy with a flying elbow while attempting to put up a buzzer-beating game winning shot. No malicious intent. Just overkill from the new deputy of punishment.

The OJ Mayo thing... I really don't care. Talk to me when he's in college, or skipping a year to peddle shoes. Whatever. What star High School Athlete doesn't have some type of a sense of entitlement?

I refuse to discuss that damned horse anymore. I'm done with him.

And as for the Super Bowl picks... well, I haven't totally made up my mind yet, but I'll post them soon.

Big D said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Big D said...

Intersting... my blogger account seems to have a new name associated with it.

And no photo. That part might be a good thing.

CMFost said...

Hello Rosee!!!!

ToddTheJackass said...

Is this the part when you guys are gonna make out?

CMFost said...

Not a chance!!!!