From the Wild Side

Still breaking barriers

2003-12-02T11:26:00.000-05:00

On Monday, Green Bay Packers' assistant coach Sylvester Croom accepted Mississippi State's vacant head coaching position. Croom will be officially introduced at a press conference this afternoon as the SEC's first African-American head football coach.

Croom,49, has been an NFL assistant since 1987. He also worked as an assistant coach at the University of Alabama from 1977-1986.

Croom has long been regarded as a top candidate for a college head coaching job, and University of Alabama officials were criticized for not choosing him to replace Mike Price before the 2003-2004 season.

While having a black head coach in the conference is important, there are more relevant factors to focus on.

The fact of the matter is that Croom is the most qualified candidate for the job. He had more experience than Mike Shula, who was hired at Alabama before this season. Aside from his qualifications, Croom was expected to get the Alabama job because of his close ties to the school. He is a Tuscaloosa native, played his college ball at Alabama and coached there for 10 years.

At any rate, he was passed over for a less qualified white candidate, which wasn't surprising to most college football fans. But despite being slighted, Croom now has an incredible opportunity to make his mark in an historically racist state.

So while being passed over by his alma mater may have been disappointing, it may have also been a blessing in disguise. Croom now has the chance to turn around a declining MSU program and turn a lot of heads in the process.

Kudos to Mississippi State for bucking the trend and hiring the most qualified candidate, regardless of race.

Baseball's off-season trade wars begin

2003-12-01T16:43:00.000-05:00

Several trades and free-agent signings involving big name players went down over the weekend. While it is hard to predict which teams got the better deals, it's safe to say that the clubs involved got some important additions in areas where they needed improvement.

Today, ESPN.com reported that the New York Yankees have agreed to a deal with free-agent outfielder Gary Sheffield. The deal is said to be worth between $36 and $38 million over three years.

Sheffield, who was third in National League MVP voting last season, also hit 39 homers and drove in 132 runs for the Atlanta Braves. He should solve the Yankees' problems in right field, where eight different players started for the Bronx Bombers last season.

The Yankees are reportedly also close to signing relief pitcher Tom "Flash" Gordon. Gordon would shore up a shaky bullpen that includes Jeff Weaver and Jose Contreras, who both disappointed during the 2003 playoffs, despite decent regular seasons.

In another huge move, the Boston Red Sox acquired Arizona Diamondbacks' ace Curt Schilling in a deal that will keep the 37-year-old in New England through the end of his career. The addition of Schilling gives Boston the most formidable four-man rotation in baseball. Boston's other three starters are future Hall-of-Famer Pedro Martinez, Derek Lowe and Tim Wakefield.

Finally, Arizona traded six players to Milwaukee for All-Star slugger Richie Sexson. The 6-foot, 7-inch first baseman hit 40 home runs and drove in 120 runs last season for the Brewers. Sexson gives the D'backs a solid right-handed bat alongside third baseman Shea Hillenbrand, which should lead to more offensive production in 2004.

While we won't be able to measure the effects these deals will have on the rest of the league for a while, one thing is for sure. On paper, last year's best teams just got better, while the cellar-dwellers seem poised for repeat performances.

So much for parity in baseball.

Mourning: a champion without a ring

2003-11-25T12:37:00.000-05:00

New Jersey Nets center Alonzo Mourning annonced yesterday that he will retire from basketball due to a life-threatening kidney ailment. The disease sidelined him for all of the 2002 season and parts of two others.

Mourning was informed by doctors yesterday that his condition, focal glomerulosclerosis, had worsened. He will need a kidney transplant, and the team has said that a nationwide search for a donor has already begun.

In light of Mourning's retirement, many have begun to consider whether he belongs in the basketball Hall of Fame.

He has always been an undersized center who prides himself on a strong work ethic. Mourning has been a classic example of a blue-collar player who elevated himself to the upper echelon of the NBA through sheer determination.

Mourning was a seven-time All-Star who averaged 20.8 points and 9.8 rebounds per game during his 12 seasons in the league. Still, what many Hall of Fame voters will point out is that he never won a championship.

While induction to the Hall of Fame is supposedly based only on basketball accomplisments, 'Zo was also a great contributor to charities and the community in his free time. Aside from being a great player, he is also a great person.

If Alonzo Mourning is not Hall of Fame material, nobody is.

Wolverines to the rescue

2003-11-24T13:35:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the Michigan Wolverines 35-21 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes last Saturday in Ann Arbor, all seems to be right with the world. The BCS standings now have Oklahoma no. 1 and Southern California no. 2, and it looks as if those teams will meet in the Sugar Bowl for the National Championship.

Last week, Ohio State managed to leap-frog USC in the BCS, despite USC being ranked no. 2 in both human-generated polls. Thus, while the BCS continues to be a problematic system, things seem to have naturally worked themselves out. There is a consensus that these are the two best teams, and now the BCS agrees.

While it would be unfair to some deserving, I would like to see things not work themselves out for once. For the good of college football, there needs to be a legitimate controversy about who plays in the championship game. The reason being that everyone will finally realize that this system is awful and needs to be thrown out. Unfortunately, the only way I see for that to happen is for someone to get shafted.

That someone could have been USC. Luckily for their fans, it wasn't. However, we can't keep relying on a bizarre series of upsets to set up the championship picture every season.

Bottom line, it's only a matter of time before the BCS' luck runs out. I, for one, wish it had been this year.

Magic-ally disappointing

2003-11-18T12:22:00.000-05:00

The Orlando Magic fired head coach Doc Rivers after Monday night's 90-88 loss to the Utah Jazz. Rivers was just three games over .500 in his four plus seasons with the Magic.

Despite the general rule that you don't fire a coach during the season, this move actually makes sense. There was talk after last year's first-round playoff loss to the Detroit Pistons that Rivers might be fired. Surprisingly, he wasn't.

However, his team had looked uninspired through the first three weeks of the season. They are off to the worst start in the NBA (1-10), and scoring champ Tracy McGrady's numbers are down this year. Orlando clearly needed to make a change before it was too late to salvage the season.

For now, assistant coach Johnny Davis will take the reigns and try to turn the team around. Davis has been an NBA assistant since 1996, and played for 10 years in the league. Whether he will be the head coach for the rest of the season remains to be seen.

While the Magic seem to making the right decision for the future of the franchise, the immediate future will hinge on the players, not the coaches. For the team to have any chance at a playoff run, veteran players like T-Mac and Juwan Howard will have to step up.

Obviously, McGrady's huge scoring performances are not enough to win games. He must focus more on rebounding and defense, and especially on keeping his young teammates from becoming complacent during the coaching transition.

Man vs. machine

2003-11-17T18:48:00.000-05:00

The Ohio State Buckeyes, who are no. 4 in both the AP and coaches polls, are now no. 2 in this week's BCS standings. This comes after Southern California unexpectedly dropped from no. 3 to no. 5 in the New York Times computer rankings, which are an element in the BCS formula.

I don't see how anyone could argue that this is fair. While both teams have lost only one game, it is clear that this system puts too much empasis on computer rankings and not enough on the human-generated polls.

Computer rankings can account only for factors that can be calculated mathematically. Any college football coach or player could tell you that there's more to being a successful team than losses and strength of schedule, though they are important.

Weighting computer polls so heavily in the BCS formula takes out the opinions of truly knowledgeable evaluators. Coaches and sports writers are in and around the game constantly, and have a better grasp on the non-concrete qualities that make teams better or worse than others. While concrete elements (like strength of schedule and record) are important, we should have confidence that those who coach and cover the games are smart enough to take them into account when voting.

The bottom line is that all the humans who have a say think that USC is better than Ohio State. The computers say something else.

It looks like the bad guys won this one.

Bench is just the place for Winslow

2003-11-11T23:52:00.000-05:00

Miami Hurricane tight end Kellen Winslow's public tirade after his team's 10-6 loss to the Tennessee Volunteers this past Saturday was shocking. But what happened the next day was just plain disgusting.

Winslow lashed out at officials, opposing players and his teammates in the locker room following the game. He claimed that Tennessee players had been "going after (his) legs." He said that Southeastern conference officials had targeted him during the game. He even compared the football game to a war, and called himself "a (expletive) soldier."

While most of us would expect reactions from the Miami locker room to show frustration, Winslow's comments were not like most you might see on a nightly sports recap. He was visibly angry and continually raised his voice. The most important thing to note was that he repeatedly said "write this down."

On Sunday, Winslow released a statement through the university apologizing for his comments. What this means is that he was reprimanded by the school and someone wrote an apology for him. Anyone who saw the video of Winslow's postgame comments and read this apology knows they were not composed by the same person.

The most repulsive part of the apology comes when it addresses the reference the to armed forces. "As for my reference to being a soldier in a war, I meant no disrespect to the men and women who have served, or are currently serving, in the armed forces. I cannot begin to imagine the magnitude of war or its consequences."

Give me a break. I can ignore and forget about the insincere apology in most cases. But not taking the time to personally apologize for disrespecting our armed forces at a time like this is inexcusable and unpardonable.

His original comments were bad enough. His apparent indifference to the offense they might cause shows even more disrespect.

Being upset after an emotional game is one thing, but the line has to be drawn somewhere. That line should come way before where Kellen Winslow went on Saturday night.

NBA's future superstars square off tonight

2003-11-04T12:36:00.000-05:00

Yes, I'm one of those guys who thought Carmelo Anthony would be much better than LeBron James in his rookie NBA season. I've officially changed my mind.

Anthony is actually contributing more than I thought he would for the Denver Nuggets, but James' first week has been astonishing. In three games, he averaged 18 points, 7.7 assists and 7.3 rebounds. Not bad for an 18-year-old who spent last season dunking on high school kids who were generally less than six-feet-tall.

Until last Tuesday night, I was a firm believer that LeBron James would be terribly overmatched and ineffective as an NBA starter. After all, past attempts at drafting high school kids have normally taken two or three years to pay off (i.e. Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady). That doesn't seem to be the case with James, as many people predicted it wouldn't. He scored 25 points in his professional debut and proved to everyone that he could play with the big boys.

Anthony, while being only one year older than James, seemed more prepared to make the jump after playing on Jim Boeheim's national championship Syracuse team last season. He proved that he had all the tools to excel at the college level and was ready for a new challenge. Anthony's numbers are slightly worse than James' through the first week (17.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 3.3 apg). But we should keep in mind that it's a long season.

Whether these two are truly NBA superstars or just off to hot starts, remains to be seen. But one thing is for sure. If you're looking for an exciting showcase of basketball's brightest young talents, check out Wednesday night's Denver-Cleveland matchup.

While their teams have typically been some of the worst in the league, you could have fun watching these two guys play in your driveway.

Multiple overtimes becoming a staple for Hogs

2003-11-03T14:36:00.000-05:00

What is more unbelievable than winning a seven overtime slugfest that's also the longest game in NCAA football history? The answer is doing it two times in three seasons.

Last Saturday, the Arkansas Razorbacks beat Kentucky 71-63 in a feat that matched only their seven overtime win over Ole Miss in 2001. The game lasted just under five hours and again showed Arkansas' ability to dig deep and stay focused after playing nearly three football games in one.

Believe it or not, these aren't Arkansas only recent ventures into overtime. They lost in six overtimes to Tennessee last year, and they beat Alabama earlier this year in double overtime.

While there are lots of things to question about the Arkansas football program, like coach Houston Nutt's play-calling, you can't question their heart. The fact that these guys refuse to roll over and die no matter how long the game lasts says a lot about coach Nutt's ability to motivate his guys and their ability to respond despite being totally drained.

Of all the great feats in college football this week, my hat goes off to Nutt and the Hogs for finding a way to get it done when a lot of teams would have just quit.

Kobe-Shaq feud may be a calculated distraction

2003-10-28T13:04:00.000-05:00

Two days ago, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant began taking shots at each other in the media. Shaq made comments about Kobe's physical conditioning, essentially saying that he shouldn't play if he wasn't 100 percent healthy. Kobe shot back, saying that Shaq was out of shape last season and that he sits out with injuries longer than necessary.

While these two have had their disagreements in the past, this may actually be something they planned on doing. At least now, the media is talking about their basketball team and not Bryant's legal issues.

You might ask, why would Bryant want to do something so drastic to deflect media attention toward something other than his trial? There's not really a clear cut answer to that, but there are several possibilites.

Bryant has never been in a situation remotely like this before. While a public feud with a teammate might not seem like a plausible way to change the subject, Kobe may not have any better ideas. After all, their past arguments make the situation pretty believeable.

Further, a couple of days before their argument broke out, Shaq defended Kobe in the press, and said that the team would serve as an escape from his problems.

In the end, there is no way to tell if this is really a made-up fight. However, it is worth pointing out some of the coincidences that the media doesn't seem to be.

Another magical run

2003-10-27T12:59:00.000-05:00

Everyone counted them out of the wild-card race with the Phillies during the regular season. Everyone thought Barry Bonds and the mighty Giants would trounce them in the first round of the playoffs. No one thought they could beat Cubs aces Mark Prior and Kerry Wood in Chicago in consecutive games. And, certainly, no one thought they could beat the New York Yankees, who have more than three times their payroll.

The Florida Marlins accomplished all these things. They won the World Championship for the second time in the franchise's 11-year history. What's more, they did it with everyone laughing in their faces. It's almost as if being counted out fueled their desire to win. It sure seemed that way.

There are lots of great stories within the Marlins second title run in six years. Ivan Rodriguez, a 10-time All-Star catcher for the dismal Texas Rangers, signed a one-year contract at the beginning of the season. I'll bet he wishes he'd signed a longer one now. Left-fielder Jeff Conine was traded back to his old team in late August, just hours before the trade deadline. He is now the only player who can say he was on both Marlins championship teams. Finally, 72-year-old manager Jack McKeon was hired midway through the year to try and salvage the season of a 19-29 team. In describing what McKeon did, salvage could be the understatement of the year.

So while all the sports columnists and television analysts talked about other teams, the Marlins kept winning because they had something no one else did. Not the most talent, depth or money. Certainly not the most playoff experience or veteran leadership. For Florida, it was all about heart. They believed in themselves when no one else did.

For the Marlins organization, this championship means more than the first because they didn't buy it. In 1997, they had one of the highest payrolls in baseball. This year, they won it with guys most baseball fans had never even heard of.

I'll bet they've heard of them now.

Walker's attitude explains confusing deal

2003-10-21T13:27:00.000-04:00

The Boston Celtics traded All-Star power forward Antoine Walker and guard Tony Delk to the Dallas Mavericks for overpaid center Raef Lafrentz and two other players. This deal doesn't make a lot of sense for either team on the surface, which leads me to believe that Walker's personality was really the deciding factor.

Going back to why the deal doesn't make sense for a moment, the Mavs don't need another power forward. Walker is a guy that can score, and Dallas is one of the few teams with a wealth of guys that can score. Whether Walker, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley and Antawn Jamison can all share the ball is going to become an issue. How is this team going to play defense?

For the Celtics, Walker was their only real scoring threat other than Paul Pierce. Instead, they now have a center who makes just under $10 million a year and averages less than 10 points and 5 rebounds per game. It's pretty hard to figure out how a guy with those numbers managed to get a contract that big. And it's even harder to figure out why the Celtics would want take a contract like that. How is this team going to score points?

the bottom line is that Celtics Head of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge has never liked Walker. He was critical of Walker's game as a television analyst, and has made comments suggesting that he feels Walker isn't a good enough player to be the leader of a basketball team.

If you were looking to make sense of a trade that appears to make absolutely none, there's your answer.

The missing piece of the puzzle

2003-10-20T14:47:00.000-04:00

ESPN.com News services reported today that a handful of high-profile professional athletes have been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury to testify in what one official called, "an international doping conspiracy."

The athletes, including major league baseball players Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi and Oakland Raiders linebacker Bill Romanowski, are being asked to testify based on their affiliation with a southern California supplement company that was raided last month by both the IRS and a San Mateo county narcotics task force. Supposedly, the company had been distributing a steroid called tetrahydrogestrinone, or THG.

Of course, we don't know whether these particular athletes have been subpoenaed because they are suspected to have used the drug or just to give information about their respective relationships with the company. It is sort of a funny coincidence that these are all guys have been accused of using steroids for years because of significant changes in their physical stature.

Bonds' implication could prove to be extremely damaging if he is indeed proven to have used THG. He has maintained that he does not use steroids. After sticking to his guns for the last 11 years, I think most of us now believe him.

Anyone who watched Bonds early in his career knows that the guy was a toothpick when he came into the league. Now he looks more like a bodybuilder in a baseball uniform.

Bonds is certainly a talented hitter, but if he did indeed use steroids, his single-season home run record, his induction into baseball's Hall of Fame and his reputation may be severely jeopardized. However, it would explain a lot about how he got to be so huge in the first place.

Despite slow recovery, Vick should still play

2003-10-14T13:37:00.000-04:00

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was simply the most electrifying player in the NFL last season. This season, he hasn't stepped foot on the field after being sidelined in the preseason by a broken leg. Without him, his team is 1-5 and the Falcons playoff hopes are beginning to look slim already.

Some football analysts and sports writers have suggested that the Falcons should not bring Vick back at all this season, sighting players like Ken Griffey, Jr. and Grant Hill as examples of what can happen when athletes return too quickly from injuries.

This reasoning is basically saying that Atlanta should give up on their season after only six games. One player can't win games all by himself, can he? Ninety five percent of the time, the answer would be no. In Vick's case, I'd say the answer is maybe.

For a team like the Falcons, whose confidence must be dwindling after last night's 36-0 drubbing at the hands of the St. Louis Rams, the return of the most athletic quarterback in the league might be just what they need to turn it around.

Most importantly, Vick needs to play. As unbelievably gifted as he is, he is still a raw talent. He has only played two NFL seasons and might actually take a step backward in his development if he sat out for an entire year.

While the Falcons have made no formal announcement that Vick will indeed sit out for the remainder of the season, they have certainly considered it. However, they should realize that bringing Vick back is important not only for this season, but for the future of the franchise.

Any way you slice it, it's a feel-good story

2003-10-13T14:20:00.000-04:00

This year's baseball postseason will likely crown a winner that almost every fan of the game would like to see win a championship. However, likely is a key word in that sentence. There is still the chance that the evil empire that is the Yankees will win the World Series and ruin it for all of us (who don't live in New York).

Let's start with the Florida Marlins. This team, with one of the smallest payrolls in baseball, won the National League wild card with an unbelievable last month of the regular season. No one picked them to even finish in the top half of their division. Whether they go on to the World Series or not, they have already turned a lot of heads and have proven they will be a contender in the future.

Next, we have the Chicago Cubs. They have one of the most loyal groups of fans in all of sports, yet they hadn't won a postseason series since 1908 until this season. Late season acquisitions Kenny Lofton, Aramis Ramirez and Randall Simon have helped tremendously on offense, while the Cubs have the best young pitching staff in baseball with the one-two punch of Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. Thousands of Cubs fans across the country would be ecstatic if the Cubs advance to the World Series.

The Boston Red Sox have not won a World Series since 1918 and would love the finally break the curse of the Bambino. For most Red Sox fans, the current series between the Boston and the Yankees is more important than the World Series because of the fierce rivalry between the two teams, evidenced by Saturday's brawl at Fenway Park.

At least one, and possibly two of these teams will advance to the World Series. Even if your team has already been sent home, you can't help but feel good for the fans of these teams (minus the Yankees), who haven't had any success to cheer about for a long time.

Kobe Bryant: Uncharted waters

2003-10-07T11:04:00.000-04:00

Kobe Bryant is dealing with a situation we never expected to see him in. And, from the sound of things, he's not handling it too well.

Bryant reported to Los Angeles Lakers' training camp in Hawaii last Saturday, a day late. On Friday, his coaches and teammates had not heard anything from him about when he would arrive or if he would arrive at all. That's a pretty out of character itself.

He arrived on Saturday, telling the media that he had been sick and that he was still not strong enough to go through a full practice. He was also about 15 pounds lighter than he was last season, and sported four new tattoos on his arms. Seems like a far cry from the punctual, clean-cut, honest Kobe Bryant we had all come to know and love, doesn't it?

What it does sound like is a kid who never went to college and seemed to be one of the few young players mature enough to make the transition successfully, is now suddenly doubting his ability to handle being an adult. Whether he will carry that doubt on to the court with him remains to be seen.

These really are uncharted waters, for both the media and Kobe. While high-profile athletes having legal troubles is nothing new, never has a sports figure so loved and respected in the community and on the court faced jail time for such a serious crime. What's more, it would seem that the prosecutors have at least as good a case against Kobe as they did against O.J. Simpson. I think a lot of us feel like those prosecutors had a pretty good case.

All else aside, it is both sad and commendable that the situation has worked out the way it has so far. While a part of you feels that it's good to see a superstar athlete being prosecuted for his alleged wrongdoings, another part hates to see it happen to a guy like Kobe. He was simply one of the most likeable, personable and charismatic players in the NBA. Until this thing is over, we should all try to remember that he is innocent until proven guilty.

Politics and football obviously don't mix

2003-10-02T15:56:00.000-04:00

Rush Limbaugh, host of the politically-charged "Rush Limbaugh Show," on nationwide radio, resigned from his newly acquired spot on ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown" late Wednesday.

While it was hard to understand what he was doing on the show in the first place, he resigned in the wake of harsh criticisms of racially motivated remarks he made last Sunday about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, who is African-American.

Before we get to what Rush obviously did wrong, lets try to figure out what the heck this guy supposedly knows about football. He has never played or coached college of professional football. His radio show, where he's made his living making extreme comments about all areas of government and politics, has nothing to do with sports or football. To get straight to the point, Rush knows very little about sports and a whole lot about how to be controversial.

On Sunday, Rush took several shots at McNabb. He claimed that the media has been "very desirous that a black quarterback do well." He also said McNabb has gotten "a lot of credit for the performance of (the Eagles) that he didn't deserve."

In commenting on the criticisms he's gotten from the NAACP and several Democratic presidential candidates, Rush said: "I figured if I am going to do this (the ESPN show) I should be who I am."

It looks like that's exactly what you did, Rush. Now all of us who watch the show have a pretty good idea who you are, too. A bigot.

There is simply no place for such comments on national television, and there's plenty of room to take shots at players for poor performance without bringing race into the discussion.

Clarett success would ruin college football

2003-09-30T11:59:00.000-04:00

The Maurice Clarett soap opera continues.

Last Tuesday, Clarett filed a suit against the NFL challenging the rule that players cannot enter the league until they have been out of high school for three years. Meanwhile, Clarett has been attending classes at Ohio State, as the lawsuit doesn't affect his college eligibility.

And, in another crazy twist, ESPN.com reported that Clarett attended only one class last Thursday because so many cameras were following him around campus. The school has said they will provide security for him in the future.

Could this story get more ridiculous? I'll never say never.

This kid is going to have security guards with him all around a college campus? He's starting to sound more like a pro player already.

If Clarett wins this lawsuit, it would essentially ruin college football as we now know it. Coaches would have players signing letters-of-intent without really knowing that the kid would ever step foot on campus. The rule Clarett is challenging is what keeps college football free of so many of the problems college basketball and baseball have. Changing it would cause the game to become more of a semi-pro stepping stone and cause coaches to feel they need to offer more incentives (yeah, you know, money, cars, etc.) to get kids to come to college.

If the rule does get overturned, look for Clarett to fail miserably in the NFL. Football is a full contact sport. It is not basketball or baseball. 18-year-old kids would be killed by older, more-physically developed players who spend all day to working out and practicing. I hope Clarett wants what he gets when he gets what he wants.

Tribute to a great sports writer

2003-09-29T11:21:00.000-04:00

George Plimpton, one of the most respected and renowned sports writers of the Twentieth Century, passed away last Thursday (Sept. 25). He was best know for his work with Sports Illustrated as a participatory journalist and as creator of "The Paris Review," a literary journal that kick-started the careers of many famous authors.

Plimpton wrote over thirty books, of which many were related to sports. Some of my personal Plimpton favorites are Shadow Box, Paper Lion, The Bogey Man and Out of My League. Plimpton was an innovative writer of literary nonfiction and his work is a must-read for any sports fan.

Plimpton pioneered the genre of participatory journalism, from being a third-string quarterback for the Detroit Lions to pitching to Major League All-Stars. He should be immortalized not only for his impressive and highly acclaimed body of work, but for coming up with a truly original idea.

While sports writers are generally taught to try to get a truly engaging story by extensive interviewing and knowledge of the game they write about, Plimpton took this idea a step further. If you are not familiar with Plimpton or his work, imagine Ernest Hemingway being a professional pitcher for a day for the sole purpose of writing a vivid account of his experiences.

Plimpton’s writing is so valuable because it gives us a look at sports through the eyes of the average fan. If you have ever wondered what it is like to feel the pain, pressure, adrenaline or exhilaration of being an NFL quarterback, check out Paper Lion. If football isn’t your thing, there’s still some Plimpton for you. Among others, his participatory exploits include baseball, hockey, boxing and golf. For some great excerpts from a smorgasbord of Plimpton’s different books, articles and memoirs, try The Best of Plimpton.

I conclude by saying thank you to a great sports journalist and author whose work has touched my life in a way no other writer's ever could have. If you’re a sports fan and decide to read Plimpton, he will undoubtedly touch yours too.

Football may take a back-seat to pennant races

2003-09-23T12:20:00.000-04:00

This weekend, for once, regular season baseball will actually be more important than the NFL or NCAA games on Saturday and Sunday.

With six games left to play and 11 teams still legitimately in the hunt for the final two playoff spots, this weekend's baseball games will send two teams to the postseason by the skins of their teeth. Meanwhile, early-season football games will seemingly decide little in comparison.

The games seem to mean more when the fate of a 162-game season rests on the outcome of a few games or even a few pitches. It doesn't seem like there's a whole lot riding on the fourth week in the NFL.

While it is true that no game is more important than any other in the grand scheme of things, they sure do seem more important at the end of the season. You'll see everything from managers being ejected to guys breaking bats over their knees. You might even see a brawl or a guy spit on an umpire.

All the emotions and egos that you see coming out of football players and coaches in December, you'll see out of their hardball counterparts this week. Aren't emotional outbursts and controversial plays what make sports so much fun to watch?

If you think so, you might want to catch a Sunday afternoon baseball game instead of another NFL blowout. Baseball fans all over the country will be doing the same.

Negativity will get you nowhere

2003-09-22T10:48:00.000-04:00

The No. 17 Florida football team was embarrassed at home this past weekend by No. 12 Tennessee. Fans booed. Commentators were puzzled. Some journalists poked fun.

If you watched any of this game, you might have been asking yourself any number of questions about Florida's game plan. How could you let that ball be caught on a Hail Mary at the end of the first half? Why does head coach Ron Zook seem insistent on always putting in a cold quarterback with the game on the line? Why don't the Gators run any plays designed to pick up more than 10 yards when they're losing?

These are just a few of many problems most fans and sports analysts with what Florida did on Saturday. One particular columnist decided he really wanted to get up on his soapbox and rant. I think he went a little bit too far.

Gainesville Sun sports columnist Pat Dooley blasted Zook and offensive coordinator Ed Zaunbrecher, calling Saturday's events "unbelievable and unpardonable."

Dooley is a columnist. He writes his opinion, and is entitled to it. However, there are two things about him I've learned over the years from reading his columns and stories. First, despite the often derogatory tone of his columns toward UF athletics, he claims to be a Gator fan. Second, he doesn't know what he's talking about.

Aside from his off-the-wall predictions about college football, his writing sounds more like a little kid pouting when he doesn't win than a sophisticated opinion about the subject.

In a town like Gainesville with one major media outlet, Dooley's opinion becomes the opinion of many Florida fans. How unfortunate.

As a columnist, he has a right to say whatever he wants. As a fan, leading the charge for fans to be at the throats of the coaches for two-thirds of the season is only going to make the situation worse.

The only thing more disappointing than having fans boo their own team at home is having the people everyone listens to encouraging them to keep it up in the future.

Sports have it all

2003-09-16T11:25:00.000-04:00

This past week in the world of sports has been filled with emotional highs and lows. I suppose you could say this is the case in any given week, but this week had an unbelievable number of engaging stories.

Of course, there is the ongoing Maurice Clarett debacle. The latest reports say Clarett's lawyer has filed a petition with the NFL to change rules prohibiting underclassmen to enter the NFL Draft. There is also the possibility he will sit out this season and return to Ohio State next season.

Keeping on the Ohio State topic, the Buckeyes won another overtime thriller over NC State; their sixth win by fewer than 7 points in the last 12 games.

Also in college football, Florida State’s heroic comeback from a 13-0 fourth quarter deficit to beat Georgia Tech 14-13. FSU quarterback Chris Rix dug deep and stayed in the game despite a neck injury to engineer the Seminoles two late scoring drives.

In baseball, San Francisco’s Barry Bonds has been riding a roller coaster for the last two weeks. After losing his father, MLB great Bobby Bonds, to cancer, he has struggled to keep his composure on the field while continuing to be the difference between winning and losing for the Giants.

In tennis, the older sister of two of the world’s top players, Venus and Serena Williams, was brutally shot and killed in Compton, Calif. The latest report from ESPN.com says the murder may have been gang-related.

The list could go on and on, but the point worth making here is that sports are a microcosm of life. They make us laugh, cry, shout, cringe, argue and apologize. They can break our hearts, disgust us, make us hug total strangers or scream at the top of our lungs. Whether it’s a seesaw battle in an important game or an off-the-field/court incident, we can all relate some aspects of our lives to what happens with our favorite teams and players.

Let Mo go? Good for the game, bad for the Buckeyes

2003-09-09T02:31:00.000-04:00

The most recent report on Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett is that he may consider transferring to Division I-AA Grambling.

Since an initial report that Clarett may have violated school testing policies during the weeks leading up to last year's National Championship game, not much news has been good for the freshman phenom. Since then, numerous other off-the-field problems have surfaced for Clarett, and media speculation about how losing him might affect the Buckeyes chances at defending their title has run rampant.

Many analysts and experts have given the answer that OSU might be better than they were last season, and that losing Clarett wouldn't be an issue. Ohio State's narrow escape from defeat at the hands of San Diego State this past Saturday (that's right, San Diego State) painted quite a different picture.

The Buckeyes did almost nothing effectively on offense against a small-conference, unranked team at home. To say that the owner of the NCAA Division-1 freshman rushing record couldn't have helped that situation is simply not true. And I can't imagine that many of the players weren't thinking about what effect Clarett could have had on the game would have been had he played. He was simply the best back in the country last season as a true freshman, and he certainly could (and probably would) have been a huge factor in helping OSU win more convincingly. And he could have been the difference between winning and losing some important Big Ten games later in the year (i.e. Penn State, Illinois and of course, Michigan).

Despite all that, score one for the good guys and hats off to Ohio State for putting the integrity of their University and their football program before money and winning. ESPN.com reports that OSU officials have told Clarett that his suspension will be for at least 12 games (a.k.a the entire season) and rumors are swirling that the school will not reinstate him at all.

The bottom line is this: everybody has to play by the same rules, and Ohio State needs a weapon on offense to contend for another title. Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, it looks like the rule book is going to win this battle.