June 16, 2008
A Dash Of This And A Splash Of That
Let me begin today with a Quick Quiz:
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If NASCAR races are sporting events, why isn’t Ice Road Truckers a sporting event?
100 words or less…
Marcus Vick was arrested last week on charges of DUI, eluding the police, reckless driving and driving on a suspended license. I think he should be acquitted of the “eluding the police” charge since he obviously didn’t do that; they caught him. This is not Marcus Vick’s first brush with the law by a long shot. He has had a boatload of traffic citations – witness the “suspended license” business here – and he has had arrests related to firearms and molestation of a minor. I wonder if this is a case of sibling rivalry where Marcus is trying to run up a tab of small offenses that might compete with his brother, Michael’s, shorter but more heinous criminal record. On the other hand, maybe Bob Molinaro of the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot got it right:
“In the wake of Marcus Vick’s latest run-in with police, let’s once again express relief that there’s not a third Vick brother.”
Cedric Benson cleared NFL waivers over the weekend meaning that no team in the NFL wanted to take him on at the moment. Of course, Benson has two court dates staring at him for boating under the influence and driving under the influence; that might explain why teams are leery. Even when Benson’s lawyer gets him off with no jail time, there is always the possibility that Roger Goodell might suspend him for a while. He also suffered an ankle injury last season that was more than a trivial sprain. And on top of all that, Benson has not been anything close to a stud tailback in his NFL days.
So, here is another Quick Quiz:
What will happen first?
1. Cedric Benson plays for another NFL team
2. Cedric Benson gets arrested for SUI - - skateboarding under the influence.
Another former Chicago Bear, William “The Refrigerator” Perry, is out of the hospital after a bout with Guillain-Barre Syndrome. That is a neurological disorder involving inflammation of the nerves peripheral to the brain and spinal chord. These nerves deal with strength in the arms and legs and with breathing. The Fridge is home, has “lost a little weight”, and reportedly is feeling much better. When Perry played, it is unlikely there were more than a dozen players in the league who weighed 300 pounds or more. On the current Bears’ roster, I counted twelve…
Dwight Perry had this item in the Seattle Times yesterday regarding the upcoming Olympics in Beijing:
“More than 4,000 Chinese children have been given the name Aoyun — meaning Olympic Games — in honor of Beijing hosting this year’s big event, BBC News reported.
“Just be glad that China never landed the Poulan Weed Eater Bowl.”
Greg Cote had an insightful observation in yesterday’s Miami Herald:
“Women’s roller derby is making a comeback, thanks to incessant promos on ESPN, refuting the idea that something has to have been missed as a precursor to it making a comeback.”
Wow, that is awfully deep. Does that mean if Mike Tyson makes a comeback and signs to fight a tomato can named Willie Getup, it might not really be a comeback because no one actually cared that Mike Tyson has not been fighting for the past couple of years? I can see Wayne and Garth plumbing the depths of this issue for an entire movie…
I remember about ten years ago when Tiger Woods took over the golf world, there were dozens of pundits who proclaimed that he would be the inspiration that would put more and more African American players into golf. Now Tiger Woods is a veteran and there has been a lot of time for young black golfers to make themselves known on the circuit. But I don’t know any and so I wonder if all those pundits might be willing to point out that they were wrong? Probably not…
Speaking of golf, the sport may have peaked in terms of popularity here in the US. I am not talking about TV ratings; I am talking about people who play golf. According to a report in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the National Golf Federation estimated that 17 million fewer rounds of golf were played in 2006 than were played in 2001. In addition, 267 golf courses closed their doors in 2006/2007 - - or should I say, “stopped mowing the grass”?
Donald Trump wants to build a new golf course along with a resort, timeshare condos and a few hundred houses in Scotland. He was there pitching the concept to whatever they call a zoning authority in Scotland and he said his goal was to build the world’s greatest golf course. With Donald Trump, you would not expect him to say anything less than that. Nevertheless, I wonder what the residents of St. Andrews think about his proclamation. My guess is that they think they already have the world’s greatest golf course right there in their town.
Finally, here is another item from Dwight Perry’s Sideline Chatter column in the Seattle Times:
“Booth banter between Angels broadcasters Steve Physioc and Rex Hudler, during one of pitching coach Mike Butcher’s mound visits to counsel struggling rookie Nick Adenhart:
Physioc: ‘Hud, what’s Butcher telling Adenhart now?’
Hudler: ‘Do you prefer a window or aisle seat on your flight back to [Class AAA] Salt Lake City?’ “
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports…
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