I was actually surprised that, on a national level, Barry Bonds’
final game as a Giant didn’t get as much attention as I thought it
would.
I was actually surprised that, on a national level, Barry Bonds’ final game as a Giant didn’t get as much attention as I thought it would.
For the record, I thought the Giants made the right decision. Bonds is old, he won’t play first base, he can’t be a designated hitter, and despite how money-driven it sounds, baseball is a business, and both parties got what they needed.
But heck, even that Ecko guy got more air time this past week, and I actually think people dislike him more than they do Bonds. Go figure.
Here are six observations from the week that was:
n Speaking of Ecko, have you been to www.vote 756.com? I didn’t vote on what the final resting place would be for Barry Bonds’ home run ball No. 756, although if I did, I probably would have chosen the outer space option just to see owner Marc Ecko eat another $8-9 million on accomplishing the task.
If you haven’t been to the site, and you’re wondering how contrived this story is on a scale of 1-10, check it out. You can actually register your e-mail for “Ecko related” updates. And here’s an actual quote from the forgettable Marc Ecko site: “For the next eight days, Marc engaged the country in a public debate over the ball’s fate.”
HA! I was so engaged that I forgot to vote. And I’m sure the people in Cooperstown are so engaged that they’ll just turn the ball over in the display case so the asterisk isn’t shown.
n Rex Grossman was finally benched, leading to knee-jerk reactions from a couple of national columnists that Bears coach Lovie Smith succumbed to the media pressure.
Um, no he didn’t. If anything, Smith stared down the media pressure, and finally rolled his eyes when he saw Grossman throw another interception in his peripheral vision.
While I was shocked the demotion took place, I was only shocked because Grossman managed to keep his job for so long. Take away that phenomenal Bears defense, and Grossman would have been long gone a long time ago.
n I’m thrilled Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy isn’t one of my sources.
n This whole Briana Scurry-Hope Solo goaltending debacle for Team USA takes me back to Wade Phillips and the Buffalo Bills. To get you caught up, USA coach Greg Ryan started keeper Scurry over Solo in Thursday’s match against Brazil. Scurry hadn’t played in three months, while Solo played the four previous games, and did pretty well to boot.
Well, Brazil wins, and prevents USA from winning their third World Cup. Now, people want answers, and possibly the head of Ryan.
But remember the Bills from 1999, led by quarterback Doug Flutie? Well, Flutie marched the Bills to the playoffs that year, where coach Phillips then gave the quarterback spot to Rob Johnson.
The Bills lost in the Music City Miracle to the Tennessee Titans, and everyone wanted Phillips’ head.
Fast forward seven years, and the Dallas Cowboys got Phillips’ head, as well as the coaching ability that came with it.
Neither decision by Phillips or Ryan made complete sense, but hey, I just made a connection to football and soccer.
n I have to say that I’m not that broken up about the suspension of baseball umpire Mike Winters. Winters baited Milton Bradley into, among other things, tearing his ACL, but what’s wrong with a little revenge for every umpire that has been yelled, kicked and spat at over the years?
What Winters said was wrong. No doubt about it. But if part of your job is to have people yell at you about what you saw, approximately three inches away from your face, you’d probably bait someone into tearing their ACL, too.
n And finally, I just saw the offspring of Tom Brady and Bridget Moynahan, and then I found a dollar bill in my pocket. Coincidence?
