Well here we are 2 games into the World Series between Boston and Colorado, and all anyone wants to talk about is... The Yankees?
Even though all of baseball's attention should be focused on the World Series, it seems like the Yankees have been grabbing all the headlines. Back on Labor Day when the Yankees looked assured of a playoff spot after overcoming their 21-29 start, who would have thought that Giants coach Tom Coughlin would have more job security than Joe Torre?? By the way, with the Giants in London on Sunday, wouldnt it be cool to hop on a plane late Saturday Night.. fly in for the game, and then fly home right after? It would be as wacky as Jimmy Kimmel flying back and forth from NY to LA every day this week to host 2 talk shows. Actually. don't pilots and stewardesses do this every day??
When it comes to stuff in Yankeeland, I'm a Met fan who doesn't hate the Yankees - just dislikes them... but i do enjoy watching them get eliminated. In 2000, I couldnt stand them after they beat the Mets in The World Series, but after deriving extreme enjoyment after that loss in '01 against Arizona, I get less enjoyment from their annual eliminations. But now,... it should be all about the Rockies and Red Sox with the Yankees managerial search should be on the back burner. Scott Boras had the right idea about refocusing attention on the World Series with his proposal about holding the 1st 2 World Series games at a neutral site and making a whole big showcase out of it like the Super Bowl. That big baseball weekend would also include the Post Season Awards for MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year. Heck they oughta give Kevin Youkilis an award for replacing Sean Green as "Best Jewish Baseball Player!".
Something Joe Torre said in his press conference last week caught my attention... referring to Ian O'Connor's exclusive Bergen Record interview with George Steinbrenner as being "planted". George's media appearances have been few and far between and it seems quite obvious that he has done what a lot of people his age do - he got old. Heck, even the little teeny boppers think of Dick Clark as an old guy who had a stroke. But now that George has become "Old George", his relatives want to shield him from the media so we all remember him as Blustery George, as he was immortalized in last summer's excellent ESPN miniseries "The Bronx Is Burning". I guess they don't want him to turn out like Bob Hope who occasionally made public appearances in his later years although he was starting to look like a man in his late 90s.
And it is all about the image.. Next year's World Series will end just days before the 2008 Presidential Election.. I hope Rudy recovers by then for his comment that he plans to root for the hated Red Sox against the Rockies. One of my Republican coworkers keeps insisting that it is going to be Rudy Giuliani against Hillary Clinton. First of all, there is no way a pro choice candidate will be on top of the ticket run by those religious right wing wackos. No way Jose. Once Rudy is asked if he would nominate a pro choice Judge to the Supreme Court, the GOP will Christie Whitman him to the back burner! And the Democrats - for me it's all about the hair which is why my one year in advance prediction is that it will be John Edwards running against Mitt Romney... or maybe Fred Thompson.. whoever is more conservative for the nutjobs running the GOP. Romney and Thompson are both morons and I haven't really paid enough attention to see who is the bigger idiot that will leave the GOPers all gaga at their convention next year. But if you go all the way back to JFK, image has been a major player on the Presidential ticket. Look at the big deal they made when Nixon shvitzed during his debate with Kennedy. And JFK had awesome hair. Back in the mid 70's that Israel hater Jimmy Carter had fantastic hair - then there was Ronald Reagan. a Republican with excellent hair.. and Bill Clinton had great hair too. And maybe that is why Edwards is spending so much on haircuts.
I agree with Torre that this whole Steinbrenner newspaper interview was somewhat staged. George's family wanted him to go out on top, and they know his condition allows him a few good days every once in awhile. Why not play the media on a "Good George Day"? Here is a chance for him to kvetch about Torre, and then while everyone is complaining about the silly Torre contract offer... the reality is Torre was really fired, and probably unfairly, but the Yankees gave Joe a chance to look like the good guy at their expense....it was all a decoy. Because while all the callers on WFAN are blasting the Yankees, the team quietly slipped in an announcement about the new team power structure that subtly slips George into the background as somewhat of an owner emeritus.
O'Connor phoned in Mike and the Mad Dog last week and flatly denied that he was set up by the Yankees. But how was it possible that he would just happen to call George's room and get through? Can anyone just call a hotel and get George on the phone? Highly unlikely... but the team did what it had to do... created a red herring, And George got to go out on his terms.. He got blasted for how he treated Torre.. but then again that is the way he was back in the old days when he used to fire every other one of his managers and show everyone that he is "The Boss"..
And now we can all focus on what the sports world should be paying attention to.... the amazing fact that Pumpsterdamus has gotten all of his football picks right!! In reality instead of Torre.. gimme some Torrealba.. and I dont want to hear about Mattingly.... I wanna hear more about Manny!
Enjoy the Series!
PUMPSTRADAMUS NFL PICK OF THE WEEK; The Incredible streak continues ... last week Pumpy picked the Bills upset to improve to an unbelievable 7-0. This week in honor of the Colorado Rockies, we go to Denver for the Broncos Monday Night tilt against Green Bay. Denver is favored by 3. Sayeth the Pump: "I have a bad cold that I predict will turn into Bronchitis.. therefore in honor of my bronchitis.. I take the Broncos! And for the election, I say it will be Hillary against Romney"
UNBIASED GIANTS FAN PICKS OF THE WEEK: For the 3rd straight week we went 2-1 to even things out at 10-10-1.
Miami 9 1/2 point doggies over The Giants in London - I know a guy whose daughter married a guy last year, and since the weddding he hasn't gotten a haircut. What does he have in common with The Giants? Both are having a good year without a Barber! This is a tough call - a game at a neutral site against a winless team with fans yelling at vendors for tea and crimpets..and checking the soccer scores on their cell phones. I think The Giants will win, but Miami will cover.
Washington 16 point doggies to NEW ENGLAND - Another toughie with a huge spread. I think Washington will cover.
VIKINGS 1 point doggies over The Eagles - Listeners of my podcast know I criticized Minnesota's governor this week. However, I will be rooting for their team this week.
CLIP OF THE WEEK..
Earlier this season, I mentioned that I named my fantasy baseball team Havana Gila because I drafted 2 Cubans. Here is another Nate K - Nate Kizerian with his recording of Hava Nagila.. and no... that is NOT me.. By the way, that Nate K is Armenian...(His name ends in "ian") Wonder how he felt about Turkey downplaying its horrible genocide into what The Daily Show called a Half a Caust..
2 comments:
Once Rudy is asked if he would nominate a pro choice Judge to the Supreme Court, the GOP will Christie Whitman him to the back burner!
That is if he responds he would. All Giuliani need do is say that he'd nominate judges with good conservative values who respect the rights of states and their legislators to make appropriate decisions on hot button issues -- and he'll be fine for the right.
They don't necessarily care what the President thinks on abortion or whatever at this point -- the social conservatives that I know, at least, don't like any of the candidates (including Huckabee): what they want, and why they'll vote GOP, are socially conservative judges. If Giuliani promises to vote for judges who'll overturn Roe v. Wade (and he can promise this and still remain "pro-choice" ... 'cause all he needs to promise is, vide infra, to nominate judges who'll respect "states' rights" or some other code like that -- i.e. who will throw the issue back to the states, e.g. by overturning Roe v. Wade), the right will line up behind him if they think he has the best shot at the Presidency.
And the media will cluck about how "moderate" the GOP has become to nominate a pro-choice candidate and go out of their way to ignore that Giuliani would have essentially promised to be anti-abortion where it counts.
So basically Rudy will dance around the issue to appease a bunch of right wing religious nuts who want a society where rape victims and women with health issues must carry babies because a small bunch of morons think they must.
At another extreme, did you see what was going on in Saudi Arabia when Laura Bush was there last week. Those religious knuckleheads forbid women from getting treated for breast cancer because they believe it's sinful for women to expose their breasts to male doctors.
If people finally came to the realization that its nice to have religious beliefs but wrong to impose them on others, wouldn't the world be a better place??
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