Saturday, April 07, 2007

Saturday 04/07 A.M. (Very) Quickie

Quickly picking the top talking points of the day...

NFL: Ricky Williams applies for NFL reinstatement. And they should let him in, too. If he's actually committed to the game this time, he could be a hell of a "free-agent" pickup for the Dolphins.

More NFL: QB David Carr signs with the Panthers. It'll be interesting to see how he can perform with a contender, rather than a bottom-feeder. As a mediocre QB, maybe he just needed a better team around him.

Masters: Tiger is 3 over, but within 5 shots of the lead. If it's "Saturday at the Masters," you know this is when Woods hits the "Turbo" button on K.I.T.T.

NBA: Raptors win first division title ever. And Bryan Colangelo assures his place as the NBA's Executive of the Year. (Watch other GMs tack to apply Colangelo's international flavor to their own team. Guess what: It works.)

More NBA: No 70 wins for the Mavs, and perhaps the Nuggets gave a taste of why they'll be a dangerous out in the West playoffs.

(70 wins is totally overrated, by the way. The Mavs' season is a complete waste – at any number of wins – without an NBA title.)

CBB: Gillispie introduced at Kentucky. My first to-do task would be to meet Ashley Judd, but that's just me. He'll have UK back in the Elite Eight within two years.

MLB: Mets still unbeaten. Even if it's only the first week of the season, the Mets sure do seem to be on a mission this year.

MLB "42" Watch: Now that MLB will let any player wear No. 42 on the day of tribute to Jackie Robinson, the question is no longer who is wearing No. 42, but who ISN'T. Players of any racial background: How can you NOT wear No. 42, if you are allowed to for this one special day? Prediction: Even if players privately won't want to, watch them all do it, if only to avoid being the one who doesn't seem to show appreciation for Robinson.

MLS Season Opens: If there's one thing that ESPN does well, it's promotion. "You're a fan. You just don't know it yet." is right up there for cleverness with the insta-ubiquitous "Is it Monday yet?"

The campaign takes a risk in telling fans what they are, but for a sport like soccer, there's nothing to lose in promoting the "try it" concept.

I'm still curious whether the casual (or "non-") fan should be the target, rather than targeting fans who already are sympathetic to soccer (say, those who played as kids).

-- D.S.

12 comments:

Matt T said...

The Mets put it to the Braves last night, that was ugly.

Today's a great day for the state of Georgia. UGA's spring game, Masters and Smoltz/Glavine matinee.

With only 3 players under par, I expect Tiger to put up a number and be within striking distance tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

I think that colangelo is a great gm, and if he doesn;t win executive of the year something is wrong greatly wrong.

Unknown said...

Well, Dan it looks like the team votes on who gets to wear the number 42. So guys who want to wear it might not get the chance.
I do think it is a little lame that so far, only Black players are being voted to wear the number. Jackie Robinson was more than just a color. The man was a symbol for the game as well, so other players who are like that should get the number too.

Unknown said...

as an aside..i totally forgot Ricky WIlliams.
I had to search the memory banks to remember who the hell he is. Well...he didn't do much in the CFL did he? Some team will pick him up..but I wouldn't pay more than league minimum.

verbal97 said...

In the White House they wait until late Friday night when the papers are gearing up for the weekend to "throw out the trash" and get rid of the minor news that they don't want people to know about. I equate Dan waiting for Sat. to bring up the MLS as the same thing. In any event, I'm a big soccer fan, and I HATE the MLS (speed of play is way too Latin (read: slow). (Casual) People seem to be paying more attention this year because of Beckham, but he won't begin playing until late June/early August.

Anonymous said...

i like watching soccer but not the mls, i will watch the world/euro and the premeire but enver the mls because the quality of play is so much lower.

Tom said...

Garret Anderson isn't worried about not seeming to show appreciation.

Garret Anderson Won't Wear Jackie Robinson's Number

Unknown said...

I think that's fine if he won't wear it. Half the guys that will end up wearing the number are doing it because their team tells them to.

I agree with Anderson. THis was an awesome idea by Griffey. Selig expanded it to the league and watered down the effect, imo.

Matt T said...

Well the number Tiger put up was even par, but that's good enough to be in the final pair, where the winner has come from every year since 91

The Big Picture said...

wonder what the chances of carr starting over delhomme. he's obviusly got something that NFL teams like(d), evident by being a top pick.

so with good WRs and a decent line, this should (finally) give us a way to accurately measure him against other qbs.

Kurt said...

It was a good day today...Walk off grandslam for A-rod and BC loses in the national championship.

bizzo5000 said...

If I were a player, I would want to “honor” Robinson, I just think that I wouldn’t “deserve” to wear 42. That would be my answer.