**Folks, it’s Saturday afternoon and I’m about to take off on a
long journey to Kiev, Ukraine. Not knowing what the computer
situation would be when I get there, I’ve decided to put a little
something together now. I know that later in the week
everything will be fine.
So…no commentary on the weekend’s events, obviously,
including this spectacular NCAA basketball tournament.
Congratulations, though, to Northwestern State, Montana and
Bucknell. I’ll be following the next round as best I can from
overseas.
But, damn…wasn’t Winthrop close?!
NCAA Tournament MVP Quiz: I’ll give you the team and year.
You give me the MVP. Answer below.
1977 – Marquette
1980 – Louisville
1987 – Indiana
1990 – UNLV
1993 – North Carolina
1995 – UCLA
Stuff
–Phil W. noted the passing of Ann Calvello, one of the legends
of Roller Derby. “Oh yeah, those Calvello – Joannie Weston
battles were epic! And who can forget Dynamite Mike
Gammon, my personal favorite, plus Charlie Connor and Robbie
Robinson.”
–Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci on Barry Bonds and the
decision Commissioner Bud Selig faces.
“For all the good Selig has sowed…his term will be defined by
what he does with Bonds, just as Fay Vincent’s was George
Steinbrenner, Bart Giamatti’s was by Pete Rose, and Judge
Landis’s was by the Black Sox….
“What happens after the commissioner reviews the evidence is
what defines Selig’s conviction. He could just suspend Bonds –
a possibility, according to those close to Selig – knowing the
issue could wind up being decided by arbitrator Shyam Das.
That would put the players’ association in the position of
defending a steroid cheat who dropped out of their licensing
program. Bonds, the union would argue, could not be subject to
penalties for steroid use before 2003 because no penalties
existed, and he could not be subject to any since then without a
positive drug test. Selig, however, would be suspending Bonds
not for a violation of the drug policy but for conduct detrimental
to baseball. Whether Das would uphold the suspension is almost
incidental to Selig’s establishing an official condemnation of
Bonds, tantamount to an asterisk next to his home run total.
“Selig knows what is at stake: the integrity of the game,
especially when fans already have access to an extensive catalog
of performance-enhancing drug use by a player – one who
happens to be challenging the game’s most hallowed record.
Selig told associates last week, ‘I must and I will do what’s
right.’ Bonds’s problem is now Selig’s problem. The reckoning
is here.”
–Last chat I discussed the other new book on Bonds, “Love Me,
Hate Me: Barry Bonds and the Making of an Antihero.” What I
didn’t know was one of the figures” names, former utility
infielder Jay Canizaro who was a teammate of Bonds very
briefly in 1996 and ’99.
Canizaro says in the book that he knew Bonds was taking steroids,
but now he’s got major cold feet.
“If (author Jeff Pearlman) writes something, I’m not going to call
him a liar. I don’t want to run away from these statements, but
this is something I did not think would be put in public view.
This was just in a conversation we had about a lot of things. I
didn’t want it made public. These are just opinions of mine. Am
I a doctor? No. I can’t say this guy is using steroids.”
Geezuz, shut up. And aren’t you glad he’s not your neighbor?
–But wait…there’s more. Victor Conte, Mr. BALCO, said he
never gave Barry Bonds steroids. But he reiterated “On about a
half dozen occasions” he gave trainer Greg Anderson the “clear,”
and the “cream.” “My understanding was that it was for
himself.”
Conte spoke from prison. “I’m not saying that I did not provide
some of the athletes involved with BALCO with performance-
enhancing drugs. What I am saying is that during the interview
that took place with agents on the day of the raid, I provided no
specific information regarding the drug use of any athletes
involved.”
[USA Today]
–Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt on Barry Bonds:
“While what’s written in [“Games of Shadows”] sounds
incriminating, I still give him the benefit of the doubt until there
is an admission or until there’s a positive test. So as a fellow
athlete and a friend, I’m going to give Barry the benefit of the
doubt and say he just worked hard. Mechanically, he has
become the greatest hitter in the history of the sport.”
–Hey did you see that Sidney Frank Importing Company just
introduced Michael Collins Irish Whiskey? What a brilliant
concept. According to Keith J. Kelly of the New York Post,
tapping Irish Whiskey “was apparently one of the last ideas in
the pipeline by the company’s billionaire, cigar chomping
founder, Sidney Frank when he died in January at the age of 86.”
“When they came out with French vodka, everyone laughed,”
said Frank Walters, research director at a trade publication, “But
who had the last laugh? They sold Grey Goose to Bacardi for $2
billion.”
–Nice job by the USA baseball team, eliminated from the
inaugural World Baseball Classic. Alex Rodriguez said he was
“shocked.” Roger Clemens was the losing pitcher in the final
2-1 defeat to Mexico. The semis lined up Japan against Korea
and Cuba vs. the Dominican Republic.
Ken Griffey Jr. said, “Tomorrow’s a new day, and we’ve got to
go back to our clubs.”
This is why this tournament never mattered to most of us.
–Drat! My Jets picked up quarterback Patrick Ramsey from
Washington, which means they won’t be taking Jay Cutler in the
draft. This sucks, sports fans. Nothing against Mr. Ramsey,
mind you, but I was all set to buy my Jay Cutler jersey and
parade around town. I guess it just wasn’t in the cards…..
[Your editor is bummed, big time….but it would also appear he’s
overdoing it, don’t you think?]
–Janet Jones, Wayne Gretzky’s wife, will be subpoenaed to
testify when a grand jury convenes on the issue of the gambling
ring she was involved with; the one where her husband’s
assistant coach, Rick Tocchet, is a key figure. The grand jury
will meet over the coming months, we are told by New Jersey’s
new attorney general. Wayne is in the clear for now.
–Skier Daron Rahlves, 32, has retired after capturing nine World
Cup downhill races and three super-Gs. Picabo Street is the only
other American to come close to achieving this kind of success
as she too won nine downhills.
But while Rahlves may have medaled at three world
championships, he didn’t get it done at the Olympics!!!!!!!
–Rahlves’ teammate Bode Miller, The Great Loser, won the last
super-G of the World Cup season on Thursday in Sweden, a day
after taking second in the downhill, his first race since the
Olympics.
“It’s fun to come here and see what possibly could have
happened in Sestriere,” Miller said.
But in reflecting on Turin, he said, “I was as physically and
mentally fit as I could be. You have to have knowledge in the
sport. I think that’s where the confusion was at the Olympics. A
lot of people just don’t know the sport that well.”
Leave us alone, will ya?! Find another country.
–We note the passing of DePaul basketball coaching legend Ray
Meyer at the age of 92. Meyer was 724-354 in his 42 years at
the school, taking his team to the Final Four in 1943 and 1979,
though he failed to win a title.
After losing to Larry Bird’s Indiana State team in ‘79, 76-74,
Meyer’s next three squads lost only one regular-season game
each year but never advanced beyond the first round of the
NCAA tournament. Boy, that sucks.
And here’s the clincher. In his last game in ’84, my Wake Forest
Demon Deacons defeated him in the NCAA tournament. Hah!
[Apologies to the Meyer family, but this was one sweet victory
as Danny Young drove the lane, if I recall correctly. Phil W.,
feel free to correct me.]
–Figure skater Johnny Weir:
Q: What is your favorite piece of clothing?
Weir: My python-and-beaver-fur coat. It’s beautiful. It’s very
me. I understand people have a problem with fashion being
murder. I think it’s beautiful, even if it is murder.
[Sports Illustrated]
Well, I read this and I’m thinking, did the python swallow the
beaver whole?
Or, were the python and beaver shot to death when it turns out
the beaver was working on the wrong home?
–Nice two games for the Portland Trailblazers last week as they
scored 66 and 65 points. In the latter against the Nets, they had 5
points in the fourth quarter, the second lowest total in league
history since the introduction of the shot clock in 1954.
–Distance, in feet, traveled by the winning entry in the Canadian
paper plane championships in Toronto……90.6
–The letters came in regarding Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit
issue.
“The 2006 Swimsuit Issue’s cover was very disappointing. Not
one lady of African or Asian descent attended the All-Star SI
Cover Model Beach Party. Is SI saying that minority women are
not worthy of All-Star status? What do you suggest I tell my
young daughter when she sees she doesn’t look like any of the
All-Stars. Beautiful All-Stars come in many different colors.
Maybe SI should invite some to next year’s beach party.”
Zareena T. Clendaniel, Anchorage
Hey, that’s a cool name…Clendaniel.
Personally, I agree with Zareena. Where was Nancy Kwan and
Pam Grier? Or am I dating myself?
“Can I cancel my subscription and just get the next 51 Swimsuit
Issues?”
Charles Davant, Blowing Rock N.C.
Sorry, Charlie. These women do have lives, you know. That
would be like asking them to work 24/7, 365. But keep those
cards and letters coming.
Top 3 songs for the week of 3/21/64: #1 “She Loves You” (The
Beatles)#2 “I Want To Hold Your Hand” (The Beatles) #3
“Please Please Me” (The Beatles)…and… #4 “Dawn” (The Four
Seasons) #5 “Fun, Fun, Fun” (The Beach Boys) #7 “Twist And
Shout” (The Beatles) #8 “Java” (Al Hirt)#10 “Hello, Dolly!”
(Louis Armstrong)
NCAA Tournament Quiz Answers:
1977 – Marquette, Butch Lee
1980 – Louisville, Darrell Griffith
1987 – Indiana, Keith Smart
1990 – UNLV, Anderson Hunt
1993 – North Carolina, Donald Williams
1995 – UCLA, Ed O’Bannon
Next Bar Chat…Wednesday pm…from Kiev. It’s bound to be
colorful.
