Does Bud Selig have pictures of all of MLB's owners engaging in unnatural acts with farm animals? Is that possible?
The man who has presided over what will be known forevermore as the "Steroids Era" in baseball, complete with broken and now bogus power records, and disgusted fans unable to differentiate great performance from juiced performance, received an unbelievable $15.06 million salary in the fiscal year ending October 31, 2006!
Ironically, this is almost exactly the same amount of money Barry Bonds earned in 2007, although the thorn in Selig's side did earn quite a bit more than Buddy Boy did in 2006.
According to the Business Journal of Milwaukee, the commissioner of baseball made just slightly more in 2006 than in the previous year, although he topped $15 million in that year as well. Selig's annual salary is an astounding 34% higher than NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's $11.2 million, and poor Gary Bettman of the NHL had to scrape by on only $5.9 million in 2006.
Surprised? Did you expect the commissioner to suffer a pay cut or perhaps even lose his job over the steroids and HGH scandal baseball is currently embroiled in? Just in case there was any doubt in your mind as to what is important to Selig's bosses - the owners of the 30 Major League Baseball teams - the Business Journal article makes it crystal clear: "given the league's recent economic growth and that Selig had to be persuaded out of long-held retirement plans, it is believed the [contract] extension calls for further pay hikes."
In other words, Bud Selig was prepared to retire, probably in shame over his complicity in the "Steroids Era," but was talked out of it by the owners. Why? Because they are making so much money under Bumbling Bud's outstanding leadership that they are afraid to install any other puppet, uh, excuse me, person, into the commissioner's office.
The most unbelievable part, of course, is the comment that "it is believed the extension calls for further pay hikes." Pay hikes? Whatever happened to the apparently old-fashioned notion that the guy at the top of the organization gets held accountable for the organization's performance, not just on the bottom line but as far as its public image is concerned as well?
How much will Selig make this year? $18 million? $20 million? The numbers are staggering when you realize he doesn't throw a pitch or hit a ball, but when you consider the black eye baseball has suffered under Selig's watch, you realize the only thing that matters to MLB's owners is the bottom line. Nothing else. It's disgusting and wrong.
Big news today, at least for us Catholics - The Vatican has released a list of updated sins appropriate for the modern era. I must say that this seems more than a little unfair. After all, avoiding the previous Seven Deadly Sins was hard enough, but to now add another seven to the list - doubling it - well, let's just say it's going to get mighty lonely up there in heaven if we're not careful.
And how is it fair that my forefathers only had to avoid the traditional Seven if they wanted to get their tickets punched to the eternal reward in the sky and now I have all these other ones to worry about, too?
In any event, the part of this Vatican story that didn't get a lot of press was the fact that the Pope, recognizing what an important part sports plays in modern society, has thoughtfully issued an additional five "Sports Commandments" as an addendum to the original Ten we all already know so well.
Interestingly, in an attempt to show the church can keep up with the modern world, these Sports Commandments have been issued in a countdown format, much like Sportscenter's Top Plays. Since I know how busy most people are and that you may not have had a chance to review these Commandments yet in their entirety, here they are for your perusal:
Top Five Sports Commandments
5) Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's head coach. Not sure why they would stick with the "thous" and "shalts" if they're trying to modernize, but, hey, who am I to criticize? Anyway, this one sounds fairly straightforward, but it seems a lot of college and professional teams might already be in big trouble, and we're only at Number Five. No one said it would be easy.
4) Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighboring team. This is getting a little stickier. Number Five was straightforward, why cloak Number Four in such mystery? I think this one maybe relates to that little videotaping issue the Patriots are facing. Goodell said he was going to get tough, but this is ridiculous. Who knew he had such influence with the Man Upstairs?
3) Thou shalt not steal signs. Hmm. Seems to be a trend developing here. If Matt Walsh is named specifically in any of these, I fear for Coach Belichick's eternal soul. There seems to be a baseball application here also. Who among us hasn't tried to figure out all those gyrations the guy with the helmet in the third base coaches box is doing? And batters trying to sneak a glance back at the catcher's signs while waiting for the pitch? Forget it. Never again, baby.
2) Thou shalt watch sports in HD. Now we're getting somewhere! If you are having a little trouble convincing the wife to spend $2000 or more that you don't have on a new big-screen HDTV, this might be just the thing to turn the tide in your favor. Nobody wants to be turned away at the pearly gates because they tried to watch LSU win the National Championship on a twelve inch black and white with broken rabbit ears. Surround sound seems to be optional, since it's not specifically mentioned.
1) Honor thy father and mother. Also Charlie Weis. I guess this answers the question about how long the big guy will have his job. Weis, that is, not God. We already knew God has His job for life and so now, apparently, does Charlie. It seems the "Pope for life" gig has worked out so well, that they're willing to try the same thing with the Notre Dame football head coaching job.
So here it is, the moment that the people angry and jealous of the New England Patriots' success over the last seven years have been waiting for - the very same moment that fans of the Patriots refused to believe would ever arrive - allegations, on the eve of Super Bowl XLII, that there is more to the "Spygate" controversy after all.
According to the Boston Herald and the Associated Press, allegations have surfaced that a member of the Patriots video staff illegally taped a St. Louis Rams walk-through the day before New England's victory in Super BowlXXXVI. If true, this would seem to put the lie to the Patriots contention that they released all the material they had on the matter to the league office and that the videotaping was more than an isolated incident, but rather a pattern of activity.
You can almost hear the anti-New England camp (Read: just about everyone outside Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, and some of Connecticut) gleefully sharpening their knives and contemplating exactly how to shove them up under head coach Bill Belichick's shoulderblades in order to inflict the most damage.
Should Belichick be fired by Pats owner Robert Kraft? Suspended by NFL Commisioner Roger Goodell? If so, for how long? One season? More? Maybe Belichick will win one last Super Bowl Sunday night and walk off into the sunset! Stay tuned, this is just getting good!
Um....excuse me, I don't mean to interrupt your semi-orgasmic ruminations or rain on your parade in any way....but may I ask the question the people so anxious to convict Bill Belichick and the Patriots organization seem to be conveniently ignoring? Is there any proof of this charge?
I only ask because, and maybe this is just me, but doesn't the timing of this latest bombshell seem a little, oh, I don't know, convenient, as Dana Carvey used to say? The NFL confiscated the videotape of the New York Jets on September First (157 days ago, or over 22 weeks ago, if you're keeping score), and followed that up by quickly ordering the Patriots to turn over any other tapes and materials related to those tapes that they had in their possession.
The league and Roger Goodell were satisfied that New England complied with their edict and said so at the time, and have said so on numerous occasions ever since. In fact, the AP says the NFL was informed of the "rumor" about Super Bowl XXXVI months ago and investigated it at the time, coming to the conclusion, according to NFL spokesman Greg Aiello, that "there was no evidence of it..."
Only one report I have read gives any indication as to who is the source of these latest accusations. According to Alex Marvez, in a report published on Foxsports.com, a "former member of the Patriots video department" named Matt Walsh "has hinted at other improprieties."
Okay, Mr. Walsh. You've primed the pump, now it's time to deliver. Instead of hinting at improprieties and hiding behind anonymous accusations, how about you put an end to this little brush fire you've created one way or the other. If you have proof the New England Patriots illegally taped a St. Louis Rams walk-through, or if you have proof of some other sinister machinations masterminded by Darth Belichick and company, how about you produce it, and immediately.
By slinging mud, in the classic manner of a jilted lover or bitter former employee, you tarnish the reputations of dozens of hard-working and successful professional men, both athletes and coaches. Of course, I'm pretty sure that's your intention. You are a bitter ex-employee taking advantage of the Patriots success at a time when you can get the most mileage out of your unsubstantiated charges.
Why wait until the day before the Super Bowl to unleash your bombshell? Would it have anything to do with, say, an unsuccessful attempt to extort money from your former employers? If Senator Specter's staff were to investigate your claims, would they discover calls placed to the Patriots offices, or perhaps emails or snail mail sent to the team, threatening to go public with your hints and allegations if you weren't paid off?
That's my theory on this tempest in a teapot, Mr. Walsh. But you can prove me wrong. Release the tape showing that the Patriots recorded the Rams the day before Super Bowl XXXVI. Release the tapes you have showing the other improprieties you are so certain took place. Prove me wrong.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, in a stunning announcement late Saturday night, said the league will follow the example of the NBA and replay a portion o####ame.
Citing the precedent set by NBA Commissioner David Stern yesterday when he upheld a protest filed in December by the Miami Heat after Shaquille O'Neal was incorrectly ejected from a game after five fouls rather than the required six, Goodell announced the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers will replay the final 56 minutes of Saturday's 42-20 win by the Packers at snowy Lambeau Field.
When asked what call or non-call, specifically, was the reason for his controversial decision, Goodell replied, "Oh, there were no egregiously bad calls by our officials that we are trying to make up for, it's just that Seattle obviously only came to play for four minutes and then took the rest of the game off.
"We here at NFL Headquarters take very seriously the teams' obligation to provide a competitive game for the fans, therefore I've made the difficult decision to replay the game from the time Seattle scored to take a 14-0 lead and followed that up by disappearing from Lambeau Field and perhaps the state of Wisconsin entirely."
It was pointed out to the commissioner that no one in Green Bay seemed particularly bothered by the fact that the Seahawks took most of the game off; in fact they seemed quite pleased with the outcome. He responded, "We think it's pretty obvious that the Packers somehow caused that snow to start falling heavily after they fell behind. It didn't seem to bother their guys one bit, and the Seahawks started acting like they had never seen snow before.
"Since the actions in Green Bay constituted a clear attempt to maintain an unfair competitive advantage, I was left with no choice but to come to this decision. It's one thing to pipe crowd noise into your stadium to confound the opposition, but when you start controlling the elements like Mike McCarthy and Brett Favre did, that's just going too far."
The commissioner was then asked what proof he had that the Packers causedthe storm. "Proof? Didn't you see Favre running around out there like a little kid? Throwing snowballs and stuff? Try and tell me he didn't know it was going to snow. Meanwhile, Seattle's players were slipping and sliding like your grandmother trying to shovel her driveway. The whole situation just stinks to high heaven. We must have a replay."
No word yet on whether Goodell will be calling for a replay in New England also, where he is rumored to be looking into allegations the Patriots somehow stuffed Fred Taylor into a Laurence Maroney suit and turned him loose on the Jaguars. Stay tuned for further updates.
Just some random synapse misfirings regarding the Michael Vick sentencing while wondering idly how many points the Patriots will put up against the Jets on Sunday. Running up the score? This is one game where you may well see a score being run up.
Everyone seems to be concerned with the Vick sentence of 23 months and whether it was too long or too short, but as a famous coach once said, it is what it is. I was wondering about some other things, such as:
- Is it fair to say Michael Vick had a "hangdog expression" on his face when he was in court to face sentencing on his federal conspiracy conviction on dogfighting charges?
I'm just wondering, since he had expected a lighter sentence, given his cooperation with federal prosecutors. Apparently that cooperation was somewhat less than full and complete.
I know this question is in poor taste, please don't dog me about it. I apologize, I wanted to run it by Stephen A. Smith for approval, but I seem to have lost his telephone number and email address. Darn. I guess I'll just have to wing it.
- Did Vick pass the time in court while waiting for sentencing by playing Hangman on a pad of legal paper?
There's a lot of downtime when you're navigating the legal system in America, and that game would seem to be something he's pretty familiar with, although his version admittedly is a little different that the one you and I played when we were kids.
- Will Michael Vick put his impressive scrambling skills to use in the federal pen?
It's a good thing he can run and break tackles in the open field, since he will undoubtedly be a target for every con who wants to show he is tougher than a professional athlete. I admit I'm just guessing here, since I've never actually been to prison, but it seems like human nature to me for most of those guys to want to use Vick to prove his own toughness.
My money is on Mike Vick, though, if that happens. After all, as we all know, it's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog that matters.
- Has Michael Vick spent the last few months watching the first couple of seasons of Fox's Prison Break?
It seems like the smart thing to do would be to bone up on prison etiquette, since he must have known he was going to be doing at least some hard time. I mean, I'm sure you could pick up some really helpful tips from that show as far as the whole getting along in prison thing is concerned.
Of course, the words "smart" and "Vick" don't seem to go together too well, do they?
- Will Vick get time off for good behavior and be released in the dog days of summer, 2009?
His sentence is 23 months, but if he gets that time off for good behavior it is conceivable he will miss only the remainder this season and all of next season.
If that indeed happens, he will be a free agent, assuming he is cleared to play by Roger Goodell. It seems like an easy decision to me; after all, he will have paid his debt to society, and as embarrassing as the conviction is to Vick personally, it in no way taints the NFL like a point-shaving or game-throwing case would.
I expect to see Michael Vick running and throwing in the NFL somewhere in the fall of 2009, although it won't be in Atlanta. Of course he will be dogged forever by this conviction, but if he's unleashed on the NFL by Goodell, is there any doubt some quarterback-starved team will give him a chance? Think about it - Vinnie Testaverde scrambling out of the pocket with the aid of a walker or Michael Vick. Hmmmm.
Hey everyone, I know it must seem like I've dropped off the face of the earth, but it's nothing like that.
I've been busy writing - two full-length novels so far, plus over a dozen short stories - and working hard to try to get an agent. If you are curious and have a few minutes, check out my website, www.allanleve rone.com.
If you're a literary agent or if you know one, by all means contact me! In the meantime, I'll be here when I can - love this forum - and as always, thank you for checking out my blog, especially considering how many great ones you could be reading instead....
