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Coin Toss Archive
• By Nathan Bierma 6/2/00
Bob Becker's profile of
Chad Curtis in the Press showed us the problems with the media's insistence
on portraying athletes as either saint or villain, and never anything in
between. Curtis, of course, was cast as the saint for his small town values
and his religious faith. Becker's piece didn't venture an inch beyond this;
it was praise so predictable it was almost unflattering. I've never forgiven
Curtis for his childish stunt (which Becker has praised) of showing up
Jim Gray by walking out of a live interview he pledged to do at last year's
World Series. But my more serious beef with Curtis is the pomposity that
results from what may be well-intentioned religious zealotry. To me, an
unapologetic Christian, the jury's still out as to whether big-talking
born again athletes like Curtis give themselves a good or bad name by shutting
off teammates' vulgar music or preaching to them about their lifestyles.
I don't like rap any more than Curtis does, but there's a huge risk of
coming off as self-righteous and distant when you are always confrontational
and never warm. My outlook on my faith is that you convince people you
have some useful ideas about how to live only by engaging them, not by
jabbing fingers. I'm still not sure if Curtis is a role model, or if he's
a knee-jerk moralist surrounded by his own echoes.
• By Bret Bakita 5/26/00
Is
it me, or is it hard to believe that it's been a decade since the Bad Boys
and the back-to-back NBA championships? What happened to this championship
franchise? The answer is simple: A rebuilding process was never put into
place, let alone put into motion. What really hurt this organization was
that when the star players of the Bad Boy teams got older and retired,
the younger players who were drafted to replace them left Detroit through
trades and free agency (see Allan Houston, Theo Ratliff, Bonzi Wells, and
now it looks like Grant Hill). This left Pistons fans with Michael Curry,
Lindsey Hunter, Terry Mills, Jud Buechler, John Crotty. Gee, I wonder why
people aren't flocking to the Palace these days. It's time to start the
overhaul of the new millenium Pistons by getting rid of pretty much everybody.
Keep Grant, if you can, along with Jerry Stackhouse, Jerome Williams and
Mikki Moore, and then go after young talent that either has potential or
is starting to bud, like Jalen Rose. How about drafting a regional college
star such as Mateen Cleaves or Morris Peterson to not only bring a winning
attitude to the club, but also to help bring local fans to the ticket window?
It is time to put the fire back in the Pistons, otherwise, the NBA audience
in Motown might be lost for good.
• By Matt Duwe 5/24/00
I have always been a fan
of Juan Gonzalez. However, I just don't think "Igor" fits in on the club.
His numbers will be there by the end of the season, people. You can
count on that. But instead
of wasting $140 million on this guy,
trade him to a team that
needs a player of his caliber. How about
the Yankees? Ledee and Spencer
are just not cutting it right now, so
how's about this: Trade
Gonzalez to The Bronx in exchange for Ledee
and either Ramiro Mendoza
or Andy Peittite. That way, we fill the
hole in the outfield with
a player with a great upside, and we
bolster our pitching with
a guy who BELONGS in the majors and not
Dave Borkowski. And take
that $140 million ear-marked for Gonzalez
and spend it on a free-agent
pitcher during the offseason like Mike
Hampton or Mike Mussina.
By this time next year
they have Brian Moehler
as their number three or four starter
instead of as their ace!
Maybe then, we the fans can start
thinking of competing with
Cleveland again, as we were so quick to
do only a few short (long)
years ago.
• By Nathan Bierma 5/22/00
What's
even more sad than Malik Sealy's death over the weekend? The driver who
killed him had a drunk driving conviction on the books, and may have been
drunk this time, too. Why are we so soft on drunk drivers? Do we enjoy
the game of Russian roulette that results? Red Wings fans know first hand
what kind of tragedies can happen thanks to yellow-bellied enforcement
of DUI laws after a certain limo crash two years ago. WBBL even airs a
spot for a lawyer urging you to fight for your rights if you've been caught
drunk driving. There are too many rights and too little responsibility
surrounding this issue. If I had as much money as the lawyer you hear on
the air, the only right I'd tell you about would be to look pathetic as
your can gets dragged off to jail for endangering innocent people with
your irresponsibility.
• By Sean Wright 5/19/00
Well,
here we go. The talks have already begun. Grant Hill has been calling
teams to find out which team would be the best team to go to. And the only
criteria is that it has to be a winning team. I am a Grant Hill supporter
100%, but the Pistons made such a huge improvement last year and it looks
like they could have a great chance to pick someone up in the offseason,
preferably a big guy, and make a serious run at the Eastern Conference
next year. Hey Grant, you don't have to look far to see good talent,
it is on the same bench as you are. And the Pistons just might surprise
you.
• By Kelly Feasel 5/17/00
I’m
already starting to hear the rumblings. One day after the Tigers
swept three from the World Champion Yankees; fans and media started to
wonder if the Tigers might be turning a corner. Turning a corner?
Let’s just hope they didn’t peak and now fall back down into a hole the
size of the Grand Canyon. I’m not a Tigers’ fan, AT ALL. But
I did notice a couple of things about the weekend’s play. First,
fundamentals were actually a part of the games. The Tigers worked
some walks, hit with men in scoring position, and moved runners over.
They actually looked like a team. Second, they did this without Easley
and Clark. Easley and Clark are two of the main problems with the Tigers
so it’s no wonder the team played better without these two. Bunt?
Easley doesn’t know what it means. Clark’s only knowledge of the word of
selective is on the bottle of Salon Selective shampoo that sits in his
locker. If the Tigers want to continue to look, act, and play like a team
they shouldn’t welcome these guys back into the starting lineup just because
they come off of the DL. If they continue to win they should dance
with what brung them - even if Rich Becker and Juan Encanarcion can’t catch
a fly ball between them.
• By Kelly Feasel 5/13/00
Tactician.
Motivator. Teacher. Mentor. Father Figure. Friend.
Coach. All of these words describe Tom Izzo. Izzo is one of
the top five coaches in the country. He is THE best coach in the
Big Ten (with apologies to Gene Keady, Jim O’Brien and the rest).
He has three outright or shared Big Ten Championships in his pocket.
He has a coveted National Championship in his lapel. So why would
Tom Izzo consider a jump to the NBA? I can think of 15 million reasons
why he might…and one reason why he shouldn’t. But the one reason
can’t really be measured, because how does one measure legacy? Izzo,
in my time watching Big Ten sports, has done as much in his short time
at MSU as any coach in any sport has done in the same amount of time at
any other university. Tom Izzo is Michigan State University.
He brings in student-athletes who could choose the beaches of Florida,
the plush campuses of Arizona or California, and the historic institutions
in Chapel Hill and Raleigh-Durham, to the often cold and gray campus in
East Lansing. And there, in his extraordinary way, he turns boys
into men; men with futures other than the NBA. The NBA will always
be there. But Michigan State needs Tom Izzo. The Big Ten needs
Tom Izzo. College basketball needs Tom Izzo. In his heart of
hearts Tom Izzo knows all this. And I, for one, hope he tells the
NBA to shove off, at least for now. Stick around Tom, you’ve so much
more to do.
• By Kelly Feasel 5/11/00
Fred
Hickman is under huge scrutiny for not voting Shaquille O’Neal his Most
Valuable Player for the 1999-2000 NBA Season. Hickman uses the age-old
argument that if you took the Shaq out of the Lakers, and the Allen out
of the 76ers, the 76ers would be much worse for the wear. I don’t agree
with Hickman, but I do think he makes a lucid, well-thought out, defensible
argument during endless questioning by every NBA “expert” on the face of
the planet. Was Hickman just pimping to be a guest on every sports talk
show in the country? I doubt it. Hickman is a professional sports journalist
who is respected among his peers. Don’t label Hickman’s selection of Iverson
as a slam on Shaquille as much as a true belief that Iverson was THE most
valuable player to his team. Besides, Hickman’s vote does not have monumental
historical significance; it’s just his opinion for this year - unlike a
certain sportswriter who looks, talks and probably eats like Jabba the
Hut who forgot to elect a certain fastballer to the Hall of Fame on the
first ballot. Now THAT’s hys-torical.
• By Bret Bakita 5/10/00
Sports
fans of Grand Rapids, do you realize where you live? Welcome to the winning
sports capital of the Midwest! Since late March, area sports fans have
enjoyed a winning high like no other, which is just the way you want to
start a new millennium. First, it was the Calvin College men's basketball
team batting leadoff as they claimed the Division III national championship
in Salem, Virginia. Next, we moved to April and the end of the IHL regular
season, where the Grand Rapids Griffins set numerous franchise firsts like
51 wins and the outright Eastern Conference regular season championship.
Now it's May, and it can't get much better, right? Wrong! The West Michigan
Whitecaps and Grand Rapids Rampage are both in first place. Oh, by the
way, did I mention the Griffins have also now advanced to the the Eastern
Conference finals of the IHL playoffs? Fans, it doesn't get much better
than this!
• By Sean Wright 5/8/00
A double
dose of depression for sports fans this weekend. You could blame the demise
of the Red Wings on the defense, the lack of scoring or the old age, but
one thing is for sure: We have seen the last of the back-to-back Stanley
Cup champion team. The Red Wings will certainly have a younger look next
year. Now to the nightmare that was the Grand Rapids Rampage game Saturday
night against the Milwaukee Mustangs. I have never been a part of
such a turn of emotions during a sporting event. The Rampage absolutely
handled the Mustangs for 58 minutes. But like the movie "All The
Right Moves," the Rampage gave the game away not once but twice. First
a Rampage fumble with 15 seconds left was returned for a game-tying touchdown,
only to have the Mustangs field goal kicker choke the extra point away.
Then the Rampage didn't down the ball on the ensuing kickoff to leave time
for a game-winning field goal. This is definitely not what we have seen
with the Rampage this year thus far, so my scoop is
that this was a huge fluke,
and the Rampage will get over it in Florida.
• By Nathan Bierma 5/6/00
It's
going to take some convincing to get me in the break-up-the-Wings bandwagon.
I don't see a rickety team on whom the sun has set, a wrinkled woman in
a nursing home remembering her prom queen days. I see a juggernaut that
put together a stellar regular season and rolled over a solid Kings team
before running into a Colorado squad that started believing it was anything
but first round fodder just five weeks ago. Yes, Yzerman didn't score,
and yes, Osgood allowed some soft ones, but these are not causes for deportation.
The Red Wings just met a team that was a little better and had a lot bigger
sense of destiny. Just ask St. Louis: Sometimes you just have one of those
series.
• By By Kelly Feasel 5/3/00
Missouri
Senator Peter Kinder vehemently opposes the plan to name part of Interstate
70 in Missouri after the late Kansas City Chief Star Derrick Thomas.
Kinder’s main argument is that Thomas, who never married, fathered seven
children out of wedlock with five different women. Kinder cites “fatherlessness”
(is that a word Senator?) as one of the biggest problems in our society.
Thomas, had he lived, would allegedly have faced reckless driving charges
stemming from his Jan 23rd crash that killed his passenger. While I don’t
agree with the Senator’s viewpoint on why a road shouldn’t be named after
the KC great, I do feel that naming a strip of a road after Thomas, who
was driving recklessly and wasn’t wearing a safety belt, is not the right
message to send to motorists. Thomas was renowned in KC as a man who gave
and gave of his personal time for children and special causes. He will
be remembered as one of the great Chiefs ever to play the game. With those
two facts in mind I believe dedicating a portion of Arrowhead Stadium or
a hospital, an orphanage, or a charity for children after Thomas would
be more appropos.
• By Sean Wright 5/2/00
Hey
Anna, where's Pavel? Just when you thought they could be in trouble, The
Red Wings, led by
Anna-less Sergei Fedorov,
just got back in this series. Sergei has without a doubt been the speed,
hustle and the intensity the Red Wings have sorely needed. When Sergei
is on his game - that means no off-ice distractions like Anna K, contract
negotiations or trade rumors - he is one of the five best pure skaters
in the league. And what we are seeing now is the kind of player we saw
when he won the NHL MVP back in '94. To top it off, Scotty activated one
of the reasons Sergei didn't defect to the Hurricanes: Dougy Brown. Number
91 is going to be the one person the Red Wings must follow if they are
going to bring Lord Stanley's Cup back to Hockeytown. Hey Pavel, at 175
yards, you might want to hit the 7-iron.
• By Kelly Feasel 4/27/00
There
isn’t a parent in the world that doesn’t want the best for their offspring.
In some cases parents can go too far in preparing their children for the
future. This appears to be true in Todd Marinovich’s case.
Marinovich, the former USC and Los Angeles Raider quarterback, was arrested
in connection with an investigation of felony sexual assault as he practiced
with the Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League. Stories
of Marinovich’s childhood were at one time intriguing, but now appear to
be a tale with nightmarish results. It was said that Marinovich never
enjoyed a true “childhood” as his father, Marv, groomed him for one thing
and one thing only: a career in professional football. I’m not a
child psychologist and I don’t play one on TV, but it seems to me Marv
might have wanted to prepare Todd for life, and then football. Marinovich,
who has spent time in jail for growing marijuana, has found nothing but
trouble since he left the Trojans early as a first round draft choice.
Earl Woods, Tiger’s father, is guilty of the same errors except in Tiger’s
case, his mother was there to enforce the importance of education, social
well-roundedness, humility, and respect. Whether Marinovich is guilty
of the current charges or not, I believe his troubles started early in
life. Youngsters forced to live their parent’s dream rather than
being reared to be a contributing member of society are destined to failure
at some point in their lives.
• By Nathan Bierma 4/26/00
If
there was one guy I wanted a constant iso shot on throughout the Blues-Sharks
series, it was Owen Nolan. It was simply fun to watch a guy who has such
a head for the game. Nolan in particular was continually coming up with
backbreaking little plays - the poke checks and the stickhandling that
either supplanted a St. Louis rush or kept the defense from claiming the
puck for just an extra second more. In between the thunderous hitting of
Bryan Marchment and Chris Pronger and the wrist shot of Scott Young, Nolan's
was the display of the complete player. For his efforts Nolan gets his
first playoff series win of his nine-year career. The Sharks owe a good
chunk of their suddenly-discovered identity to their captain, who led the
way to an upset.
• By Nathan Bierma 4/25/00
Rick
Adelman took some heat for "crying" about Chris Webber's treatment in Sunday's
opening game of the Kings-Lakers series. But if spotlighting officials'
double standards for stars is crying, then hand me some Kleenexes. I'm
not excusing Webber's blowup nor saying he was picked on. And I've never
bought conspiracy theories that say the officials favor the team from a
larger TV market because it's better for the league. But who exactly beneifts
when the refs smile as Shaq repeatedly backs up his big butt and steam-rolls
a defender like a paper doll for a gimme layup? Are the officials under
the impression that this is fan friendly, a case of "letting them play"?
Is this the residue of The Jordan Rules? Important difference:
the result of laissez-faire
reffing for number 23 was the airborne artistry of a rare great. All we
get for silent whistles for Shaq is proof of physics laws about monstrous
forces pummeling weaker ones.
• By Kelly Feasel 4/24/00
Saturday’s brawl(s) between
the Tigers and the White Sox may be exactly what the Pussycats need to
wake up…but it sure as heck didn’t look like it on Sunday when they were
again pounded by the Southsiders. In 1971 the Cincinnati Reds were mired
in third place, 10 ½ games behind the Dodgers. A brawl between the
two teams took place on a Saturday. On Sunday, down 11-3, Hal King, a journeyman
pinch hitter, slammed a Granny and the Reds caught the Dodgers to win the
game. They went on to challenge for the crown, falling short in the end.
While defending your honor and your teammates is exactly what a team should
do this situation, the brawl(s) will not bring the Tigers back to respectability.
They need hitting, pitching, speed, and fundamentals. This is not a good
baseball team, and it doesn’t appear like they will be this year, Juan
Gone or no Juan Gone. It’s going to be another looooong summer for Tiger
fans.
• By Nathan Bierma 4/21/00
The
Tennessee English prof who compared the school's athletic view of academics
to "institutionalized slavery" went too far. But don't pass this off as
another fusty hair-in-a-bun sportsaphobic party-pooper. Linda Meyers, in
an independent follow-up report to the school's half-hearted internal review,
is right to point out that looking the other way while the All-American
in the front row cheats doesn't help him by keeping him on the road to
the NFL, but hurts by preventing him from getting, as she puts it, "a coherent
program of study." She is bold and correct to complain about the sports
program's academic attitude that exists "for the institution's financial
profit without concern for the athlete's future welfare," and that having
the NCAA police the process while collecting the March Madness TV checks
is "letting the fox protect the chicken farm." Her main point is not only
well taken but unsung: Just how much of a favor are colleges doing athletes
by fudging their eligibility only to send them out the door with a lousy
education?
• Read
more about Myers' report
• Bret Bakita 4/20/00
Tonight
the thriving sports metropolis of Grand Rapids takes to a national stage
when our own Grand Rapids Rampage battle the Milwaukee Mustangs in the
Arena Football League's Thursday Night Game of the Week on TNN. Now for
those of you out there who would like to discard the Rampage because you
feel they are aminor league team or the AFL is not real football, let me
say this: TUNE IN. It only takes a click on your remote and if nothing
else you can show a little support for your hometown team. Just like the
Griffins, Hoops and Whitecaps, the Rampage players and staff work hard
at what they do and are proud ro represent you and the rest of the West
Michigan community. On their big night, is it too much to ask for you to
turn on your TV and wach them play? Be proud of your hometown team. Watch
the TNN broadcast starting at 8 tonight, and share your thoughts
on the game on tomorrow's "Ball Team Show."
• Matt Duwe 4/19/00
After
watching last weekend's draft I thought to myself: does this thing really
matter? After the first 20 or so picks, does it really mean anything? The
answer is: No. It does mean something to the teams, obviously, because
that's where offensive and defensive lines are filled out and the occasional
nugget is uncovered. But that
nugget won't shine for at
least a couple years. Honestly, how many people can see their team pick
a 300 lb. defensive tackle out of Boise State with the 78th pick and immediately
say to themselves, "That's a great pick! Wow, I can't believe we got that
guy!" without the help of Chris Berman or Mel Kiper, Jr.? It seems the
NFL Draft goes against everything football is about. Guys getting together
and crushing each other's body for that extra 2 feet, while millions watch
at home, the good majority of which are semi-"influenced." That's what
football is. And then suddenly all these guys get out their scorecards
come April and remark "Gee, we sure could use a left tackle that's right-handed
who can run the 40 in under 4.66. I'm not saying you shouldn't enjoy the
draft but please, come November are you really going to remember who got
picked 126th in April?
• Nathan Bierma 4/17/00
I won't
lose any sleep if Bob Knight is fired, but I do think his current crisis
is largely a media lynching. After all, did the videotape really surprise
anyone -- did it tell us anything we didn't already know or at least suspect?
Bob Knight has and always will be Bob Knight. There are no new headlines
here. I don't mean to excuse his irresponsible violence, but suffice it
to say I was a bit sobered by this weekend's further revelations about
former Minnesota coach Clem Haskins. Turns out there was evidence after
all linking him to academic fraud at the time of his contract buyout, though
the university denied it at the time. Of course, this wasn't very surprising
either. But then I look at Knight's 98% graduation rate, and his unquestioned
commitment to turning out both quality players and students. And I wonder
if, on balance, Knight really merits being big time college basketball's
public enemy number one.
• Kelly Feasel 4/11/00
On
Monday Ken Griffey, Jr., at 30 years 141 days of age, became the youngest
player ever to hit 400 home runs, beating out the great Jimmy Foxx by 107
days. The blast came on his father’s 50th birthday in a losing effort against
the Colorado Rockies. In recent days, during his early season slump, Cincinnati
fans have booed Griffey. Griffey, who wears his father’s number 30, has
now recanted on his statement that numbers don’t mean anything, it’s the
player in the uniform; he now has declared he wants his number 24 back.
Unfortunately for Griffey that number, worn by newly elected Hall of Famer
Tony Perez during his days with the Big Red Machine, is slated for retirement.
Hey Junior, you’re home. You’re arrival signifies the eventual end for
Jack McKeon and your father’s eventual appointment as Manager of the Reds.
You could own this city like nobody since Pete Rose. Stop worrying about
numbers on the back of your uniform, the boos, who's managing the team,
and play ball.
• Nathan Bierma 4/10/00
Expecting
the Wings and Avs to play the first NHL game in 20 seasons in which no
penalties were called is akin to betting on Dennis Rodman to win a sportsmanship
award or pencilling in the Tigers to compile the big leagues' lowest team
ERA. But there's a dose of reason evident here. The game had no implications
in the standings and both teams had stars out with injuries or by choice.
Playing the game was a chore Sunday, a going-through-the-motions contest
that would make even arch rivals summon restraint. Both teams knew they'd
get their chance to flex their muscles soon in the playoffs. For all the
talk lately about fighting being a necessary evil, Sunday's intensity,
or lack thereof, sure made a lot of sense.
• Nathan Bierma 4/9/00
It's always sad, though
never surprising, when iconic baseball stadiums bite the dust as the modernity
monster feasts. It's especially sad when it happens to the consummate baseball
city like St. Louis. Yesterday word came that - surprise! - Busch
Stadium's days are numbered, with a new $370 million park on the way by
2004. Now, Busch is no Ebbets Field - it's utterly unremarkable as a stadium
except for Ozzie's flips and Big Mac's bombs that happened there. But what
is truly sad are the motives behind the switch - the Cardinals aren't drawing
enough suits, and don't have enough luxury boxes to put them in. The park's
fine, but the fannies in it don't have fat enough wallets. Doesn't the
message seem especially chilling in a baseball-crazy city like St. Louis?
Baseball no longer has any use for the fan; it only wishes to be the perk
of the elite.
• Kelly Feasel 4/8/00
What
in the name of Bud Grant is Dennis Green doing in Minnesota? He let
Jeff George leave in favor of untested Dante Culpepper, whom Green has
named next year’s starter, only to go on to acquire the services of Bubby
Brister, a journeyman at best who has NEVER proven he can win with his
arm. Unless Culpepper is more prepared than believed, Green has doomed
the Vikings to the second tier of the NFC Central - Smith, Carter, and
Moss not withstanding. I can’t see Cris Carter, team player that
he is, being pumped about breaking in a second-year QB at this stage in
his Hall of Fame career. And as far as the Pro Bowl tandem of Moss and
Carter is concerned, I just bet they’re REAL EXCITED about receiving flings
from the spaghetti-armed Brister should Culpepper fail. Bad move,
Dennis.
• Nathan Bierma 4/7/00
Why
are Steve Young and Brian Berard so irrationally stubborn about continuing
their careers, Young with a concussion, Berard with partial blindness?
Part of it is raw love for the game embedded deep within them, proximate
to their livers and intestines. But part of it is also a great myth - perpetuated
by coaches, players, announcers, reporters, and fans alike - that injury
is cause to abandon, not employ, caution about one's health. Someone is
a "gamer," a tough guy, All-Madden, for athletic achievement carried out
in inadequate health. If you're not pulling a Willis Reed, you're a wimp.
This myth is a virus in locker rooms and in pee-wee leagues. It is sad
that it will take a Young or an Aikman ending up as a vegetable to prove
the truth - that sport is too poor a cause to seriously jeopardize your
long term quailty of life.
• Kelly Feasel 4/6/00
Seemingly every year the
Masters’ Tournament Committee tinkers with at least one facet of this grand
event. This year they determined a change in the criteria to receive
an invitation to compete should be made. They claim they are rewarding
consistency. That leaves out seven winners of PGA Tour events from last
year. They also decided to “Tiger-ize” the course by growing approximately
one and one-half inches of rough, thereby narrowing the fairways and attempting
to take away the advantage of the “long-knockers.” Both changes are
their prerogative. Neither diminishes the tournament’s luster.
However, the mystique of this tournament is its sameness: same elegant
stage each year; holes individually named; players comparing their performances
with the all-time greats. The Masters doesn’t need men, who in the
words of one pro, “can’t break 90,” fooling around with near perfection.
Bobby Jones is turning over in his grave because the stoic, uppity members
of the Committee have forgotten what makes this tournament “A Tradition
Like None Other.”
• Matt Duwe 4/6/00
Well,
the word comes out on Tuesday that the NCAA men's championship game notched
the worst rating ever since CBS started airing it back in 1982. It was
18% below last year's contest featuring 2 college basketball powerhouses,
Duke and UConn. This year's game, while being a compelling game, was lukewarm
at best. When you get down to the root of it, it was Michigan State's tournament
to lose. Arizona, Cincinnati and Duke, while arguably legitmate contenders
themselves, simply were not at the level of our Spartans. And that's another
thing: OUR Spartans. How many people outside of the Big Ten viewing audience
actually knew the story of this team, or knew of all the great players
and great human beings therein? Well, the numbers speak it: not many. But
I want to offer another reason why the viewership was down so much. I have
not been privy to the Nielsens yet, but my guess is the WWF on the USA
Network drew a huge rating. They ran virtually unopposed to Nitro this
past week and were coming off a hot Wrestlemania 16 on Sunday night. Now,
I'm not saying it's right that wrestling was chosen over basketball in
some households but you can't deny one thing: wrestling's popularity is
a big threat to the Big 4 and don't think they don't know it. If you don't
believe me then why has Monday Night Football been in such turmoil
the past few years? Think about it. And I'm sure that the Big 4 will think
twice the next time they
want to schedule a big event on a Monday night.
• Nathan Bierma 4/3/00
There
are still those, including Jay Forstner of the local newsweekly The Paper,
who say women's basketball is being forced down our throats - that the
media's coverage and promotion are efforts to create demand or just duck
the PC police. This is true. But it's incomplete to stop there. First of
all, for years the sports media complex lagged even behind society in acknowledging
females in the sports arena as anything but sexy sideline distractions.
So even if the balance has swung too much the other way, I think it's healthy.
Second, for all those crying about how inferior a product women's basketball
is, what are you doing watching any men's high school or college ball?
Why not just the pros, or just the NBA All-Star Game? Anything else is
an inferior product. We all know better: that there is something that draws
us to lower, purer levels of play. I don't know anyone this time of year
who would disagree that college hoops are BETTER to watch than the pros.
Could be that ever-burgeoning women's basketball, with an emphasis on teamwork
and passing, could someday turn out better than men's.
• Kelly Feasel 4/1/00
I noted
two names conspicuously absent from the list of runners-up to Larry Estachy,
who the AP selected as their college basketball Coach of the Year. The
first, Matt Doherty, brought credibility back to Notre Dame basketball
this year. They didn’t make the Big Dance and lost a couple games they
should have won, but they also beat Big 10 co-champs Ohio State and UConn,
twice. They’re finally excited about a ball other than the one that
flies through the goal post again down in South Bend. The other omission?
Tom Izzo. Izzo’s team is senior laden, a Final Four visitor last year,
and a pre-season pick of many pundits to win it all. All Izzo did was lead
a team that played an extremely difficult pre-season schedule, without
Mateen Cleaves, to a share of the Big Ten Title and another trip to the
Final Four. He’s a master communicator, a superb motivator, and a tactician
second to very few coaches in the country. He gets the most out of his
players, all of them, not just the superstars. Izzo’s Spartans have made
their frantic run to Indy via some of the most entertaining, iron-will-to-win
driven games it has ever been my pleasure to watch. Izzo’s name belongs
near, or at, the top of any Coach of the Year list. And this, ladies
and gentlemen, is the opinion of a Buckeye fan!
• Kelly Feasel 3/29/00
Baseball’s
Opening Day is about Cincinnati, where the first game of the year should
ALWAYS be played. It’s about Wrigley Field, where the ivy is still
growing on the wall. It’s about Fenway Park at 45 degrees, and it’s about
Milwaukee and Detroit, where snow on Opening Day is always a possibility.
It’s about a hot dog, or two, washed down with a cold beer in a wax paper
cup. It's about a father taking the day off to bring his son to his first
Opening Day game, getting his first look at a major league stadium and
getting his first autograph. It’s about the cheer of the fans when the
home team takes the field for the first time of the year, with hope springing
eternal all the way around. Opening Day is not about a domed stadium in
downtown Tokyo where 55,000 fans, who obviously know their baseball, sit
nearly silent, eating raw fish. Baseball IS an international sport, and
if Major League Baseball wants to take the show outside U.S. borders, I’m
down with that. But please, make it an EXHIBITION game, or even games,
where each team takes a turn visiting another country.
• Kelly Feasel 3/28/00
Tremendous
props to Hal Sutton for his victory at the Player’s Championship on Monday.
Once deemed “the next Nicklaus,” Sutton has gone through tough times only
to find his swing again, anchor the U.S. Ryder Cup Team at Brookline last
summer, and win the richest purse in golf over one of the best fields the
PGA can assemble. Beginning Thursday, after he forged into the lead,
Sutton answered question after question about Tiger Woods. He finally
melted down and told the media in no uncertain terms that Tiger isn’t bigger
than the game of golf, but the media do their best to make him so.
Sutton pointed out, correctly so, that it wasn’t “Sutton versus Woods,”
but two players against the TPC at Sawgrass. Tiger got his accolades
from Sutton, after Hal held on in the face of another Tiger charge by making
par on the two of the most difficult finishing holes in golf. Sutton
proved what Darren Clarke already knows: Tiger Woods is a phenom with witch-like
talent, but he still pulls on his britches one leg at a time each morning.
Hey Colin Montgomerie, are you listening?
• Nathan Bierma 3/28/00
I can't
stem the tide of angry e-mails about WBBL's pre-empting Jim Rome today
for Tigers baseball. But I will say two things. First, we at the station
always prefer listening to and broadcasting people actually PLAYING the
game over armchair quarterbacks just TALKING about it any day of the week.
Second, if there's any radio host you can part with for at least one measly
day, it's Rome, whose style is among the most predictable and exhausting
on the radio. Plus, the Tigers look good this year, and we're impatient
for a preview. I know we'll get our share of get-a-life Rome-aholics calling
and writing in, incredulous that exhibition baseball deprived them of their
daily fix. I'm not the program director, so it's no skin off my nose, but
I know an addict when I see one.
• Kelly Feasel 3/22/00
On
Tuesday Ricky Williams extended his most sincere apologies for the comments
he made in a recent SI interview. Gee, does this sound familiar?
Even though Williams’ comments weren’t racially or culturally offensive,
he, much like Rocker, is a young player who opened his pie hole to an SI
reporter. By lambasting his new head coach, his offensive line, the city
of New Orleans, and indicating he wants his contract renegotiated, Williams
proved all the hype surrounding his demeanor and attitude was just that,
hype. He is the latest in a long line of youngsters who need to learn to
stay away from high profile interviews. We all fell in love with Williams
when he returned to Texas for his senior year and provided humble interview
after humble interview during his run to glory as the NCAA’s all-time leading
rusher. Don’t let his “incentive laden” contract fool you, Ricky
Williams is about Ricky Williams. And by the way, when did SI become the
National Enquirer of sports publications? Athletes, young and old,
BEWARE!
• Nathan Bierma 3/21/00
I love
Sam
Smith's take in this past Sunday's Chicago Tribune on miking NBA coaches.
Smith, one of the finest beat writers in the country, says that he's had
the supposed-sacred privilege of overhearing coaches on sidelines, given
his seat at the press table, and assures us we're not missing much. Just
a bunch of inane banter toward players and predictable howls at officials.
Having their comments funneled to TV audiences would be dramatically disappointing.
Still, I wonder why so many people are missing the point - this is a shameless
gimmick by the NBA and NBC. Whenever you alter the fiber of your game for
the sole purpose of television drama, you are guilty of a contemptible
breach of integrity. This is about prostitution, and the NBA and NBC shouldn't
have been so flirtatious.
• Kelly Feasel 3/20/00
What
a weekend! To me it seemed that the only high seeded teams that were
ready to rumble from the opening tip on Sunday were Oklahoma State and
Tennessee. Florida, Seton Hall, Tulsa, Miami and, of course, North
Carolina were better prepared to move into “Sweet” territory than were
their higher seeded opponents. Even Kansas threw a scare into the Dukies.
Patience and discipline were the order of the day for the lower seeds.
If your WBBL bracket entry is as marked up as mine, well, we can just sit
back and watch for the remaining two weekends without constantly consulting
those #%@* predictions. The tournament gets more intense by the minute
because, after those first two days, you just can’t tell what’s going to
happen.
• Nathan Bierma 3/20/00
As
a Calvin student it was impossible not to get shivers when the buzzer sounded,
the fireworks exploded (the Salem Civic Center crew spares no expense),
and the Knights stormed the court as national champions. For me it was
all the more rewarding to talk to coach Kevin VandeStreek and Aaron Winkle
afterwards. These guys aren't just successful; they're the kind of people
you root for extra hard -- self-effacing, team-oriented, soft-spoken,
yet starving for victory. For them to come to Calvin four years ago and
endure lean years following the successful Ed Douma era, only to rebuild
the team brick by brick all the way to Salem only added layers of elation
to the championship celebration.
• Nathan Bierma 3/17/00
For
me the first two days of the NCAA Tournament, this past Thursday and Friday,
are the two greatest days of the sports calendar. The reason is very simple
-- no other spectacle is this BIG, quantitatively and geographically. The
Super Bowl and World Series -- and the NCAA championship game, for that
matter -- involve two teams from two cities playing in one other city that
may or may not be universally interesting. But the first two days
of the tournament, with games from noon to 1 AM, three or four games at
a time, playing all over the continent, with a good game somewhere virtually
guaranteed, are sports at its strongest -- something people all over the
place, for a variety of reasons, can get excited about.
• Kelly Feasel 3/15/00
Major League Baseball
owners voted to give Bud Selig the most power of any commissioner since
Kennesaw Mountain Landis. In the last three months Selig has taken action
in a number of areas, including the John Rocker situation. Even though
Selig has the power, he can not escape the power of the Player’s Union.
Reduced fines and suspensions have become common place in MLB. Selig
says he has respect for the traditions and history of America’s Pastime.
Now, with a union more powerful than the United Auto Workers against him,
it appears Selig’s legacy will be as the most powerful commissioner who
never got a chance to clean up the game.
• Nathan Bierma 3/14/00
Buckeye
fans were inconsolable after Ohio State
fell to a 3 seed, but they
should sleep better than
Spartan fans these next
few days. While MSU,
seeded first, will have
an arduous road that may
include some combination
of Kentucky, Syracuse,
Maryland, UCLA, Auburn,
and Iowa State, the
Buckeyes' chief concerns
on the way to Indy are
wounded Cincinnati and vulnerable
Stanford. Last
time around they shocked
the world by making the
Final Four. This year it
will be less of a surprise.
• Kelly Feasel 3/10/00
The
Bruins' Ray Bourque was traded to the
Colorado Avalanche in hopes
he would finish his
distinguished career with
his name etched on the
Stanley Cup. John Starks
offered to give up his
future earnings with the
Chicago Bulls to be traded
to a contender. Harold Baines
joined the Indians
last year during the pennant
race. It’s a time in
professional sports when
players are rented, for
short periods of time, in
order for teams to make a
run at a pennant, banner,
cup or trophy. In an era
when it often appears the
inmates are running the
asylums, what ever happened
to team loyalty?
Thank goodness for the Cal
Ripkens and Steve
Yzermans of professional
sports.
• Kelly Feasel 3/9/00
On
Wednesday Dennis Rodman was waived by the
Dallas Mavericks and so
ends the circus in the city
that once hosted The World’s
Fair. Rodman’s highs
were as high as Mount Everest:
a rise from a
difficult childhood
in a crime ridden neighborhood,
tenacious defense and rebounding
titles, and
championship rings. His
lows, well, they were
famous…or infamous: discovered
by police asleep
in his truck with a shotgun,
numerous suspensions
and ejections, and finally
reduction to what amounts
to a freak show designed
only to put posteriors in
the stands. Rodman, who
once forayed into the
sports entertainment arena
of professional wrestling,
could always be counted
on for a headline. Now,
after this final dismissal,
the sideshow that is
Dennis Rodman, should fold
up its tent and move
on.
• Kelly Feasel 3/8/00
Wayne
Huizenga and Dan Marino went 18 holes Tuesday at Huizenga’s private (he
owns it!) golf course. The topic? It has to be Marino’s possible
return to the Dolphins. Dan the Man is clearly a shadow of his former self
and many think the Dolphins should chase down Jeff George. But next year
Dan will have something he has never had: a running back. Yes, Thurman
Thomas is old, but he still has some life left in him and playing in the
warm Miami climate versus the dreary Buffalo weather would breathe life
into even the oldest pair of legs. Will Dan return for his swan song in
Miami? I for one think he should. Dan Marino in anything but Dolphin
aqua and orange is a sight I don’t need to witness.
• Nathan Bierma 3/7/00
I can't
remember the last time I fiercely stood up for Sergei Federov, but I echo
his insistence to reporters snooping around for a tabloid story about Anna
Kournikova
that "what's private is
private." Granted, planting a teen queen on your Stanley Cup parade float
isn't the best policy for privacy, but there is simply nothing to be gained
by playing National Enquirer with Federov now. The Bure engagement is a
soap opera, a sideshow, a charade, and with the playoffs on the way, we
all have more worthwhile things to focus on, like, oh, hockey.
• Kelly Feasel 3/6/00
After
Saturday's debacle in East Lansing there is no doubt which Michigan university
has the superior basketball team. But what happened to Tom Izzo?
As Michigan State destroyed
Michigan Izzo supporters would have expected to see fewer three point shots,
more use of the shot clock, and less of the Big Three: Cleaves, Mo Pete,
and Charlie Bell. If, as Cleaves said, "we weren't out to embarrass anybody,
it was just one of those days when everything was falling," why not put
up less shots and save some of those for another day? You're going
to the Big Dance and your seed isn't going to be decided by how badly you
pounded your wounded, out-gunned, out-manned, and out-hustled in-state
rival. After all, this isn't college football, where margin of victory
counts more in some computer index or catches the eyes of an inane BCS
Selection Committee.
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