The Dugout
Congrats to Don Sutton. I don't mean that because he's an announcer for the
Braves, I mean it because he deserved it (I still think of him as the enemy
and always will).
I am disappointed for Tony Perez and Ron Santo. Perez, because he deserves
to be in the Hall (Why the HOF is on a only one candidate a year campaign
lately is beyond me) and Santo, because he deserved it but now must wait for
Veterans Committee to right the wrong done to him by the BBWAA.
                                   ****
Pete Williams of Baseball Weekly said that the average salary would go up
this year from $1.3 mil to $1.6 mil, in a large part due to the expansion
teams. Poppycock! The average salary for these teams is BELOW the average
of LAST YEAR'S $1.3 so how does he figure that they are the ones that are
responsible for this? Last year, Reinsdorf's offer to Belle was blamed for
the escalation of salaries when it was actually the Braves' offer to John
Smoltz that was the killer. While neither really justified their high
salaries, Belle's was EARNED by all those good years while Smoltz got his
for ONE good year.
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Speaking of Smoltz, Neagle is rumored to be on his way to Minnesota for
Knoblauch. Well, if Atlanta HAS to have Chuck, they should get rid of
Smoltz (Smoltz, however, is also going to be iffy for a while after surgery).
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There's a really good article in BB Weekly concerning Pete Rose. Check it 
t.
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The Baseline
Which of the following players aren't in the NBA's Hall Of Fame: Larry Bird,
Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson or Oscar Robertson?
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What is it about Tulsa? Despite having 3 different head coaches and changes
in players across the board, the team has been unable to flourish with a
big lead and no lead is too big for them. If you follow the Golden Hurricane,
antacids are the most popular "food" in the second half of their games.
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Note to the other major leagues: Shame on you. If you'd get your neanderthal
heads out of your butts, you'd see that women officials CAN do the job. I've
personally seen both of the women officials for the NBA and they're just as
good as the men. MLB could have been the first but now, it looks like they're
never going to let it happen.
                                   ****
Still believe that that WNBA is close to the talent of the ABL? The final
spots on the women's Olympic team are up for grabs among 11 invitees. 1 is
a college player, 3 are from the WNBA and 7 are from the ABL. Oh and one of
the WNBA players is an ex-ABL player. The last women's team had future WNBA
players on the bench and future ABL players as starters and key reserves.
                                   ****
Last year when the NBA announced plans to increase (smirk) scoring, I said
that it would be an utter failure and so far, I'm right (What should really
disturb the NBA is that last year, the league got BETTER as the year went on
and scoring increased over every 290 game stretch. This year, however; it has
gone down EVERY 290 games). The 3-point line was not the problem and now, the
NBA is finding that out (Although, you'll hear their spin docs talking about
all the medium range shots being taken. Big deal -- taken AND missed).
                                   ****
Seattle or LA could end up with the best record in the NBA and it won't mean
much in the Finals. The West is as weak as it's ever been and only the loss
of Pippen early in the season derailed the Bulls from having another 60+ win
season.
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Stanford's as good a team as any in the NCAA this year. Unless they suffer
a critical injury, they could be a very serious contender for the national
championship.
The Sidelines
Isn't it amazing how much the media have really gone all out to show that
"their" champion is the true one? With the exception of the media in Big
12 Country, the media has taken the coaches to task about their selection
of Nebraska (Funny, but didn't they spend more than two weeks preparing
the country for the inevitable crowning of Michigan over Nebraska, on the
basis of Penn State being a far worthier opponent than Missouri).
                                   ****
Getting rid of Switzer isn't going to help unless Jones checks his ego at the
door and hires a strong coach AND GM. If he continues to act as the defacto
GM, the Cowboys are doomed to be just like the Raiduhs. Jones talks the talk
about his participation during the Johnson years and yet, the team hasn't
had the same kind of success. Given that Johnson continues to drill for
diamonds in Miami, who do you think really built the Cowboys?
Who to hire? Siefert would put together a very good staff. Lewis would bring
a very good offensive mind. These are the only two that I really think are
right for the Cowboys. Because Jones has talked about waiting until after
the Super Bowl before he makes a change, it could mean a serious interview
for Lewis.
                                   ****
Speaking of Johnson, it's about time for him to kick butt and take names. 
e's
built the Dolphins with a little loyalty to the old players and that has
meant that he has kept some of the old problems. Had he built this team as
he did in Dallas, it would have meant the end of Marino last year, however,
it would have meant more success this year. Don't look for him to be so
patient with Dan next year. If Dan doesn't adapt, look for Erickson to be
the starter quickly and Marino to make an exit closer to home.
                                   ****
When I saw Grbac get the call, all I could think about was Bob Griese. He
didn't lose his job to Morrall when he broke his ankle and Earl led the Fins
to a perfect regular season, Shula just thought it was better to ride the
hot hand. Morrall led them to a 20-14 victory in the first round against
Cleveland and it was only when Earl was only able to lead the Fins to 7
points in the first half against Pittsburgh, that Shula put Griese in and he
led them to 2 second half TDs and a start against Washington in the Super
Bowl.
                                   ****
Answer to the trivia question: NONE of the players are in the NBA's Hall
Of Fame because there isn't one.:-)
--- TrekEd 1.00
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