It was a sad day in Mannywood today-- or rather Dodgertown-- as the "Manny section" of Dodger Stadium has been renamed.
Just when you think the steroid era couldn't shock you anymore, it does.
I was stunned, saddened, disappointed, angered.
You duped us Manny. You suckered us into thinking that you were this happy-go-lucky character. You were too dumb to figure out about steroid cycles and multi-syllable drugs. You conned us into thinking that you were just being Manny.
You were different than the others. You didn't have the big head of Barry Bonds. You had the big dreads. You didn't have the seriousness of Alex Rodriguez. You were fun to be around. You didn't point the finger like Rafael Palmeiro. You preferred to wave.
For the two and half months you've worn a Dodger uniform, you changed the city. The Dodgers had their first face since Mike Piazza. You were the next Mania. The next Hideo, the next Fernando. Except you were even bigger.
But we're suckers for believing you, and now all we have is this bogus statement from you and your scumbag agent. We're not dumb enough to believe your pitiful excuses. No one in their right mind could believe you took women's fertility drugs with just cause.
The Dodgers lost today. They lost twice. They lost their dignity while the news cycle took its course and then they lost a game at home for the first time this year. The Dodgers and you were a part of something special. Today, they looked dejected. As each National touched the plate to turn a 6-0 lead into an eventual 11-9 loss, the faces in the dugout were glum. You brought a spark to the clubhouse and now it's gone.
The 2004 Red Sox were the idiots and you were one of them. You never looked like you knew what was going on, from your outfield gaffes to your clubhouse antics. You were the personification of innocence and naivety.
But you had us fooled. When will we hear the end of the steroid stories and who will be next?
Leave it to the man who hired John Mackovic to keep 'em guessing. The amount of people who even mentioned the words Tim Floyd as a candidate for the Arizona job was none. Unless they were hiding behind the woodshed.
This comes as a surprise. Tom Izzo, Rick Pitino, John Calipari, Mark Few, Jamie Dixon, Lon Kruger, Jeff Capel, Reggie Theus all mentioned, none hired. Even Russ Pennell would have been less shocking.
Which is not to say that this was a bad hire. Just kind of ironic it came on April Fools Day. A Pac-10 coach leaving a program he rebuilt to join another Pac-10 program he will have to rebuild? Head coaches don't leave to coach another program within the same conference. It just doesn't happen.
The good thing about Tim Floyd is that he wins. He led USC, Iowa State, and New Orleans to the NCAA Tournament.
The bad thing is that no one is exactly sold that Floyd is doing things the right way. There's the curios case of OJ Mayo and what (if any) involvement Floyd had in that fiasco. There's Daniel Hackett and his dad Rudy who reportedly were a package deal (Floyd denies this). There's the recruitment of Dwayne Polee Jr. who committed before he ever played a high school game.
So if you're willing to have a few scandals but win on a consistent basis then Floyd is the right man for you. Interestingly enough, the Trojans had a similar season to Arizona this year. Like the Wildcats, the Trojans underachieved, and then made a run in the tournament. In the case of USC, it was the Pac-10 tournament and the NCAA Tournament, where USC upset Boston College.
Floyd has had enough recruiting coups in the last several years (Mayo, Demar Derozan, Renardo Sidney) to establish himself as one of the premier recruiters in the country. That's a good thing. Does it matter to you how he's getting these players? Do you think John Calipari has World Wide Wes hanging around but is Mr. Clean?
The buzz in Wildcat country, similarly to the talk in the Bluegrass State, surrounds the notion that a new coach's recruits will follow him to his new place of business. While getting Renardo Sidney, Dwayne Polee, or Solomon Hill (originally committed to Arizona) would be nice, I doubt that it will happen.
So Floyd will have to rebuild the same way he has at his other non-NBA stops. Defense. And isn't that refreshing? Wildcat fans have been clamoring for defense for a while now and Floyd will surely change the philosophy upon arrival.
I'm still not sure what to think. It was a good hire, but not great. Floyd is a very good college coach, but perhaps it's not the sexy hire everyone wanted. Hiring another Pac-10 coach was certainly unexpected and still needs some digesting.
I can't help but wonder who else would have taken the job. I doubt Pitino or Izzo, but would Mark Few or Jamie Dixon be better choices. Will one of those coaches take the USC job. If Floyd struggles, we will revisit those questions in the near future.
I'm puzzled by how this came to fruition and I'm curious as to how Floyd's personality fits as the new face of Arizona basketball. I'm still having a hard time picturing Floyd roaming the Arizona sideline, but I think I'm ready to start getting used to it.
Tim Floyd, the head coach of Arizona. It's gotta a ring to it.
romoballa (3:50:58 AM):no, haven't kept up with it, between work, partying, and laziness, kind of stopped, but i'll pick it back up eventually
DoofyUofA (3:51:42 AM):if we play like we played against zag and kansas and when we were on the streak
DoofyUofA (3:51:50 AM):i think we can go to the final four....
romoballa (3:51:55 AM):big if, if chase stops being a pussy
romoballa (3:51:57 AM):wow
DoofyUofA (3:51:58 AM):ya
romoballa (3:52:04 AM):i was just talkin bout beating utah
romoballa (3:52:09 AM):i have wake in the final four
DoofyUofA (3:52:10 AM):i think we have an easy road
DoofyUofA (3:52:17 AM):we beat louisville last year
DoofyUofA (3:52:22 AM):i think wake will be the tought game
DoofyUofA (3:52:33 AM):we have two lottery picks on our team...(if chase isnt a pussy)
romoballa (3:52:45 AM):did u see chase against asu in the pac 10 tourney
romoballa (3:52:52 AM):that was the worst game i've ever seen anyone play
DoofyUofA (3:52:59 AM):and arguable three of the top 5 or 10 players at their positions in the tourney
romoballa (3:53:01 AM):that includes big softie's aau team
DoofyUofA (3:53:07 AM):id say jordan is a top 5 big man in the tourney
DoofyUofA (3:53:28 AM):chase is at least top 10 sf/sg
romoballa (3:53:29 AM):i agree, but we only have 3 guys and one of those guys looks like a big vagina
DoofyUofA (3:53:37 AM):lol
DoofyUofA (3:53:44 AM):cinderella coach
DoofyUofA (3:53:51 AM):underseeded
romoballa (3:53:56 AM):join the other 15 cinderalla coachs
DoofyUofA (3:53:56 AM):chip on the shoulder
DoofyUofA (3:54:00 AM):barely got in
DoofyUofA (3:54:04 AM):its got the makings
romoballa (3:54:39 AM):u know what the biggest thing about our team...watch us in huddles, no one is encouraging each other, no one has cool handshakes
DoofyUofA (3:54:46 AM):that is true
romoballa (3:54:48 AM):the camaraderie isn't there
romoballa (3:55:00 AM):there's a lack of leadership
romoballa (3:55:19 AM):and chase is a pussy, he played himself out of the 1st round
romoballa (3:55:27 AM):here's a kid who was top 5 coming out of high school
romoballa (3:55:33 AM):now might drop to the 2nd round
DoofyUofA (3:55:35 AM):he looked fucking awful in that asu game didnt he
romoballa (3:55:45 AM):ya, don't show ur kids
DoofyUofA (3:55:49 AM):woody and wesley said it best...white men cant jump
romoballa (3:55:59 AM):except that he can, he just refuses to
DoofyUofA (3:56:02 AM):lol
DoofyUofA (3:56:13 AM):you think we have any chance of making it 26 next year?
romoballa (3:56:17 AM):0
romoballa (3:56:25 AM):unless, our big 3 come back
DoofyUofA (3:56:30 AM):how about a nucleus of zane johnson kyle fogg and jamelle horn leading ur u a wildcats
romoballa (3:56:31 AM):which would be a miracle
romoballa (3:56:35 AM):lol
DoofyUofA (3:56:46 AM):i actually like fogg though
romoballa (3:56:46 AM):ladies and gentleman, ur 2009-10 arizona basketball team
romoballa (3:56:49 AM):me too
DoofyUofA (3:56:55 AM):even though he plays defense like a jack ass some times
romoballa (3:56:56 AM):he's my favorite wildcat
romoballa (3:57:03 AM):ya, but he plays hard
romoballa (3:57:24 AM):i actually like zane johnson too, he's not afraid to fire
DoofyUofA (3:57:27 AM):pennell better have the coaching run of his life
DoofyUofA (3:57:34 AM):cause hes been out coached quite a bit this year
romoballa (3:57:46 AM):pennell has done a great job, but he's clueless sometimes
romoballa (3:57:58 AM):he made 0 adjustments against ASU, and we fell apart in the 2nd half
DoofyUofA (3:58:09 AM):and then theres lute on the sid lines...touching his face all the time and shit
romoballa (3:58:25 AM):lute has completely lost it
romoballa (3:58:55 AM):he feels like an anvil just dropped on his had
romoballa (3:58:56 AM):head
romoballa (3:59:04 AM):and he's seeing stars
DoofyUofA (3:59:15 AM):i was waiting for some joe dimaggio type speech at that game where he was honored
DoofyUofA (3:59:18 AM):and it was like
DoofyUofA (3:59:20 AM):thanks
DoofyUofA (3:59:21 AM):im out
DoofyUofA (3:59:40 AM):id like to thank god my momma and biggie smalls
In honor of Buller's birthday, here is the annual "Reasons why Buller is a dumbass list."
1. Buller doesn't know who Joe Paterno is. 2. On the same day Buller wore Oregon shorts and a Notre Dame sweatshirt; two different people came up to him to talk about those teams and he knew nothing about them. 3. Buller now owns an Eastern Michigan sweatshirt with the initials EMU on the front. 4. Buller says "No homo" to his basketball club team at practice. 5. Buller won 19 straight regular season games in fantasy basketball and then didn't win a fucking dime in the playoffs. 6. Buller's football team was the Falcons, then the Chargers, at some point the Patriots and the Raiders, and now the Falcons again...since you know they made the playoffs and everything. 7. Buller's favorite football team is subject to change in the next 3 weeks. 8. The idea for this blog came from Buller. 9. After I told Buller I was already at No. 8 after about 3 minutes, he asked, Baller 11 15 21 (4:04:55 PM):is it really that easy? 10. I told Buller I made a tuna sandwich with Mayo, and he asked if it was O.J. Mayo. 11. One of the major factors of Buller becoming an idiot was in high school when everyone was learning Buller had the following thoughts going on his head... A. How can I take off Larry's shirt B. How can I take off Nick Kindel's pants C. Hey Frank, you're fat as fuck, let me get a large popcorn with extra butter, hold the popcorn. D. I can't see the TV because of your box ass head 12. One of Buller's favorite activities is jumping over shopping carts 13. Buller sent out an email to all the parents of his team asking them to please "reseda the email." 14. Buller is 22 years old but still wears braces. 15. To save 12 dollars from the store price, Buller bought an X Box on Amazon.com and it was broken. 16. Buller pays for a gym membership but never goes 17. When Buller does go to the gym, he lifts kids weights. 18. Buller has over 25 jerseys that he never wears. The one jersey he does wear is a game worn Ira Newble jersey. 19. Buller goes to bars with nba logo socks on. 20. Buller calls Skyler "sky" and calls the show entourage "auntie" 21. (from Skyler) "He backed ur car up into a wall, dumbass." 22 This is the kind of shit Buller does on his Birthday:
Baller 11 15 21 (3:57:06 PM):you might have to put amanda peet, mary j blige, damien wilkins, kevin boss, and tony allen in there too cause its their birthdays as well
Baller 11 15 21 (3:57:14 PM):happy birthday to them as well man
I just wanted to post this link because too often we take our way of life for granted. This blog was posted by a friend of a friend I had met last year who is doing a documentary in Israel.
After almost 24 hours in airports and on airplanes, I guess it's time to post a blog. It's about the only thing I haven't done on the internet thus far. Well, no porn either. I'm pretty sure that's illegal at the airport and I'm not Larry Craig.
My parents were supposed to leave for Latvia three hours after me and they will get to the other side of the earth faster than I can get to Hartford. This all thanks to a snowstorm in Las Vegas. That's right...Vegas. What snows in Vegas stays in Vegas. That's how the slogan goes, right?
I can't complain though. The operator on the 1-800 number said I wouldn't be able to leave LA until Friday morning, but after waiting in a 3-hour line, I was able to finagle a flight to Chicago where I was the lone person in the airport for about 2 hours, before my connecting flight to Hartford. (Word of advice: be nice to the people at the counter).That got me to thinking about that movie The Terminal with Tom Hanks and led to the following conversation:
romoballa (4:33:12 AM):wat did tom hanks character in the movie do
romoballa (4:33:23 AM):haha, aight, im gonna pass the time by looking that up
greenmachineAZ (4:33:23 AM):he was from another country
greenmachineAZ (4:33:27 AM):which ended up being in a war
greenmachineAZ (4:33:33 AM):so he couldn't go back there because it would have been dangerous
greenmachineAZ (4:33:40 AM):but he couldn't get a visa or something to be in America
greenmachineAZ (4:33:47 AM):so he ended up working around the airport
greenmachineAZ (4:33:50 AM):built a nice bathroom
greenmachineAZ (4:33:58 AM):and almost hooked up with catherine zeta jones
greenmachineAZ (4:33:59 AM):almost
romoballa (4:34:19 AM):wow
romoballa (4:34:31 AM):i'd be down to almost hook up with czj
greenmachineAZ (4:34:38 AM):haha
greenmachineAZ (4:34:39 AM):sure
greenmachineAZ (4:34:40 AM):well
greenmachineAZ (4:34:44 AM):go build a nice bathroom
greenmachineAZ (4:34:45 AM): with a fountain
greenmachineAZ (4:34:48 AM): and I'm sure you could
Now onto the sports section of the Empire.
Speaking of Vegas, big day for Arizona in the City of Sin on Saturday. Basketball/Football doubleheader with Arizona taking UNLV on the hardwood followed by Arizona/BYU in the Las Vegas bowl.
The hoops squad continues taking on Arizona coaching candidates facing Lon Kruger after toppling Mark Few and Gonzaga in a shocking upset. I'll quote a facebook status I saw after that game. "If you can't beat us, join us, Mark."
Speaking of gambling, Jamelle Horne had this to say after Arizona's win over San Diego State when asked if the victory had any special meaning for him.
"Of course," Horne replied. "More than half of those guys were AAU traveling teammates or guys I know from San Diego. So we were chirping for the entire game. We even had a little wager on the game. We'll be going out to dinner and my dinner will be paid for."
Then Horne said that no wager actually took place and he wanted to apologize for suggesting it did, through a statement of course.
"I understand that sports and gambling do not mix," Horne said. "In an effort to be funny after a tough game, I made a poor choice of words and now realize that I should choose my words more carefully."
And more gambling news:
The Suns traded Boris Diaw and Raja Bell to the Bobcats for Jason Richardson as Suns fans quickly soured on Diaw and Bell while Steve Nash sobbed quietly in the corner. Diaw, left with some parting shots.
“It definitely wasn’t as fun,” Diaw told The Arizona Republic. “… It wasn’t as exciting for the fans. It’s not as fun for everybody (on the team). I’ll always remember Phoenix with Mike (D’Antoni). We went from a winning team that was the most exciting team in the league to a half-winning team that wasn’t exciting at all.”
Kudos to Suns fans for cheering D'Antoni in his return to the Valley of the Sun.
And finally:
I'm a little shocked at myself but I actually agree with Joey Porter's comments regarding Plaxico Burress. And I don't blame Burress for his Cheddar Bob impression. No, I'm not being sarcastic.
"Plaxico is like a brother to me. I take it real personal how he's being treated," Porter said. "Everybody has their mistakes, but that's exactly what they are ... Until you've been in that situation, when you've been robbed at gunpoint or you've had a gun waved in your face or had your house broken into before or been carjacked, you really don't know what it's like."
"For a person to carry a gun, I mean, you're not carrying a gun to show that 'I'm tough.' It's safety, it's nothing but safety," Porter said.
"When you get out of a situation like that and you've been in harm's way, the first thing that goes through your mind, I'd rather get caught and take the little penalty from the media, whatever the situation may be, than not have a chance to save my life," Porter said.
"It's tough out there so I'm not gonna say I condone what happened. It was a mistake by [Plax]. I know he wish he never did it. But I don't think it's as bad as everybody made it seem, either."
I understand why the gun laws are in place, but after knowing that your teammate was robbed at gunpoint and having an NFL player killed in his own house I don't have a huge problem with Burress carrying a gun. Yes, he should have known the New York law. As an adult that's his responsibility. But the possibility of serving five years in prison for shooting yourself in the leg on accident is astounding.
Like Porter said, Burress wasn't there to shoot anyone. He was carrying the gun as protection. Every American has the right to bear arms and NFL players are no different. Intent must matter in a case like this, though it's obviously hard to prove.
Unfortunately, Burress has a long rap sheet of transgressions so the media and the publc won't give him the benefit of the doubt. Usually I think that's fair, but in this case the proposed punishment doesn't fit the crime.
Every person deserves the right to protect himself.
When people get in trouble with the law, it's either shocking or you just knew it was going to happen all along. When Corie Blount entered the NBA, I knew this day would come.
Granted Blount is no Nate Newton, but 11 pounds of weed is a nice chunk. With a last name like Blount and that expression on his face, this was inevitable. I had the following conversation with Buller after it happened. Baller 11 15 21 (4:31:54 PM):you see corie blunt just got caught for large amounts of marijuana lol
romoballa (4:32:17 PM):ya...lol i could see it coming when he was drafted
Baller 11 15 21 (4:32:31 PM):heard that
Baller 11 15 21 (4:32:40 PM):and he just finished majoring in criminal justice lol
Baller 11 15 21 (4:32:43 PM):the irony just never ends
romoballa (4:33:06 PM):so he can now defend himself
I'm a life long Cowboys fan and I know the Cowboys are one of the most likely teams to sign Vick when he comes back, but if they do, I'm done. Let's not forget that Vick's crimes weren't solely for dog fighting but also the vicious way he killed defenseless and innocent animals. This blog is right in that Vick has shown no real remorse for his crimes, and some of Vick's NFL peers (like Clinton Portis) have gone on record saying Vick's actions weren't that serious. I'd love to see Vick come back and redeem himself by changing his attitude toward this subject and toward life in general, but I highly doubt that will happen.
I've covered sports for the LA Daily News, the Signal newspaper (Valencia, CA) and I covered the Arizona basketball team for the Arizona Daily Wildcat for three years.
I currently work at the 4-letter network.
I love the Lakers with a passion as well as the Dodgers and the Cowboys.
I was born in Latvia, the tightest country ever.
Also, if you can find the whereabouts of Slava Medvedenko, please inform the Empire.
