Normally, I write this column on Sundays. But because there is so much steam to be vented out, I am doing this tonight. So fans, which dumbAZZ would you like to throw under the Bus? I'll start with what is causing the most ire in the Fox Sports Blogosphere tonight!
NASCAR
Denny Hamlin: this #### INTENTIONALLY cost Dale Earnhardt, Jr. a win tonight. He INTENTIONALLY brought out a caution late in tonight's race by parking himself away from the racing line, and preserving Kyle Busch's chance to win. Junior was pulling away from Shrub at the time the yellow flag came out. For his sheer idiocy, Hamlin gets thrown under the Bus.
Kyle Busch: this DUMBAZZ intentionally wrecked Junior late in the race to bring out the last caution. He's going to get his at some point in the season. Payback is a ####. He had a good enough car without having to resort to bush league tactics. Shrub gets thrown under the Bus.
Michael Waltrip: WHAT WERE YOU DOING racing Casey Mears when you're LAPS DOWN? Because of that, Mears got loose trying to get away from you and made contact with you. Then after the wreck, you HAD to push Mears down the entire straightaway, then DUMP him into the wall again. I'm glad NASCAR parked your sorry ####. Then after you finish your penalty, you get thrown under the Bus.
NBA
Phoenix Suns: they get first billing in the NBA section because not only did they lose in the first round, their arch nemesis, the Lakers, swept the Enver Nuggets. Where are the Suns fans now? The Suns get thrown Under The Bus.
Enver Nuggets: they will continue to be called that until they get some Defense. Thanks for playing in the NBA Playoffs. See you when you play some defense. Until then, you get thrown under the Bus.
Boston Celtics: yeah I know this is going to ruffle some feathers. But you should NEVER, EVER, have to play a Game 7 against the Atlanta Hawks in the first round. But there you are, in a Game 7, and fighting for your playoff lives. The Hawks have NO pressure on them; they weren't expected to even win a game. And I won't be surprised if the Hawks do you in your own crib. In Game 7. For even going to a Game 7 against a sub-.500 team, the Celtics get thrown under the Bus.
MLB
Roger Clemens: is there a bigger phony anywhere than this guy? And why is he STILL being treated royally while Barry Bonds is persona non grata? Bonds is who he is. And for that I give him credit. He ####s a 15 year old girl (allegedly) while a member of the Red Sox. Now there are a few other women that have come forward. I hope Debbie Clemens tees off on his bank account. Until then, Clemens goes under the Bus for being a phony and a fraud.
That's all I have for this special edition of Who Would You Throw Under The Bus?. Feel free to come on in with your nominees!
It's that time of week again, sports fans! Time to call out the object of your ire in the sports world by throwing them Under The Bus. Remember, it can be a player, team, owner, coach, official, or fans of the team of your ire. There are plenty of dumba$$e$ out there in the world of sports! I have a few!
NFL
Cincinnati Bengals: do I have to do this AGAIN? Actually, I do. For a team that wants to draft players that are good character guys, they go out and draft a player (Jason Shirley of Fresno State) that was arrested THREE TIMES IN THE SAME SEASON! Sure, Shirley can play; he's a 338-lb run stuffer, something the Bengals sorely need. If not for his off-field issues, he'd have been drafted much higher. You guys are becoming regulars Under The Bus. I'm going to need a bigger bus for you guys and the Enver Nuggets (more on them later). For drafting a player of questionable character at best, the Bengals (again!) go Under The Bus.
Chad Johnson: like the rest of your team, you are becoming a regular Under The Bus. I'm glad Marvin Lewis ####-slapped you in the media, stating he won't be traded. Good! Now go to the corner of the room and pout and sulk, after you get thrown Under The Bus.
NBA
Enver Nuggets: remember, there is no D in this team. Actually, they DID play some defense yesterday, but when the Lakers started pulling away, they QUIT. WAAAAAAY to go for that NIIIIIIICE effort, Enver. The Nuggs up and quit on their coach, their team owner, and their fans. Granted, you ARE playing a better team in the Lakers, but at LEAST you can give an effort the fans will be pleased with, rather than half-assing it. For quitting, the Enver Nuggets get thrown Under The Bus.
NASCAR
Kevin Harvick: or more specifically, his crew. I have no explanation of how he faded down the stretch at Talladega, especially since he had a strong car that was in the Top 10 much of the race. And his fade cost me in the Trifecta! This is the time of year he fades, usually until Sonoma, then he gets strong again between Sonoma and the Chase. Happy, don't fade to the point where you have to play catch up; you won't get in if you're 13th going into Richmond in September. I hate throwing Happy under the Bus, but I have to. Happy goes Under The Bus for fading at Talladega.
Those are my nominees! Feel free to chime in with yours!
This is the time for you, Joe Six-Pack Sports Fan, to vent your ire at the dumbasses, retards, idiots, ingrates, and general all around bad guys of sports and throw them Under The Bus. Who do YOU want to see go Under The Bus this week? Here's the forum to throw these retards and a-holes under the Bus! I know I have a few!
MLB
Los Angeles Dodgers: for a team that was expected to do big things in the NL West, they go out on the road for their first eastern trip of the season and promptly get swept by a team they have beaten like a drum in recent years, the Atlanta Braves. Not only did they get swept, they weren't competitive. They are looking like a last-place team rather than a competitive team. If not for the San Francisco Giants, they WOULD be a last place team. The Dodgers get thrown under the Bus.
Andruw Jones: he has gotten WORSE than he was last season. Looks like the Braves made the right decision to rid themselves of a fat, washed-up outfielder that can't catch up to a fastball. And the Dodgers may have made the wrong decision to sign him. Andruw Jones goes under the Bus, along with the rest of the Dodgers.
ESPN: for their chickenshit ambushing of Miguel Tejada during an interview he gave to the network. This brings me to the following.
Miguel Tejada: for LYING about his age when he first signed a professional contract. We already knew he roided up and HGH'ed up. Now he's aged up. Must be from all that HGH and 'roids. BOTH Tejada AND ESPN go under the Bus.
Kyle Farnsworth: for throwing at Manny Ramirez after ManRam took Yankees pitchers deep twice during a recent game. Farnsworth threw at Ramirez' head and said, "It slipped." Sure, it did. What you did was BUSH LEAGUE. Throw inside at his belt buckle to move him off the plate. You're putting a player's livelihood at risk. Now you painted a HUGE bull's eye on Alex Rodriguez and/or Derek Jeter. Now you've been suspended. Now you've been thrown Under The Bus.
Matt Kolbusz: now you're wondering, who the hell is Matt Kolbusz? He's the vendor that was selling offensive Kosuke Fukudome t-shirts. The t-shirts were nothing more than a racial blast aimed at the Asian community. The Cubs pulled the offensive t-shirts. Good for the Cubs. C'mon, M, this is 2008, not 1941. For selling racially offending t-shirts, you go Under The Bus.
NBA
Donnie Walsh: this WUSS has NO BALLS. He had the perfect opportunity to rid the Knicks of any traces of Isiah Thomas and didn't. He kept Thomas as a "special adviser." WTF? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!! This is the PERFECT opportunity for a weasel like Thomas to undermine Walsh and once again take control of the Knicks' basketball ops. Firing Thomas isn't enough. You MUST go Orkin Man and rid the Knicks of this weasel once and FOR ALL. Tune in for the next episode of, "As The Knicks Turn." Until then, Walsh goes under the Bus.
Enver Nuggets: no D in the regular season means no D in the playoffs. Granted, they are playing the Lakers in the first round, and they'll lose, but where was the defensive effort? No one can take the Enver Nuggets seriously until they learn to play good D. Until then, the Nuggets go under the Bus. (I'm glad the Lakers have perhaps the easiest matchup in the first round!)
NHL
Martin Brodeur: for not shaking Sean Avery's hand after the Rangers beat the Devils 4 games to 1. Avery offered to shake Brodeur's hand as a gesture of respect after a hard-fought series. Brodeur didn't participate in the post-series handshake. You're not only a sore loser, you come off as a small man. You go under the Bus not only for that, but the Devils go under because I DETEST THEM!!
NASCAR
Boris Said: he came across as a sore loser after his dustup with Marcos Ambrose. Then to confront Ambrose's crew chief was totally BUSH LEAGUE. I hope Ambrose kicks your #### the next time he sees you. I know I'd be looking for a piece of you afterwards. Until then, you go Under The Bus that Ambrose is driving.
ESPN: can I say it? I will: their coverage is ####. What was it with the constant pimping of Carl Edwards? Are you ESPN or TMZ? Technical glitches, snafus, Rusty Wallace, etc. They all added up to horrible coverage. And they all add up to ESPN being thrown Under The Bus.
Those are my nominees for the week. Come on in with your nominees!!
Here we go again! Here is the forum for you, the Joe Six-Pack Fan, to call out those sports personalities that so #### you off. I'm sure you have personalities that you so badly want to throw Under The Bus (Jerome Bettis Limited Edition, 850 hp) you can smell the burnt rubber and brake dust! I know I have a few!
NFL:
Cincinnati Bengals: for being WAY too permissive in drafting players with shady pasts (A.J. Nickerson, Chris Henry (more on him later), Odell Thurman, etc.). They have become the NFL's halfway house for shady characters. At one point last year, they were averaging one arrest a month. Now it's come back to bite them in the ####. Marvin Lewis had the reputation for being a disciplinarian, but where's the discipline? The Bengals and their bad seeds get thrown Under The Bus (as if they haven't got run over by Jerome Bettis and the Pittsburgh Steelers many a time over the years!).
Chris Henry: this thug just doesn't get it. He's had chance after chance after chance; now he's pissed it all away. His latest crime he's accused of? Punching an 18-year-old boy in the face and breaking his window with a beer bottle. Nice move there, ####. The judge in the case called Henry, "a one-man crime wave." Harsh, but true. After he gets out of prison, Henry gets thrown Under The Bus by his accuser.
Chad Johnson: in the SAME WEEK, he chirps again about not wanting to be in Cincy. The Bengals have said time and again that Ocho Cinco won't be traded. Do I detect a pattern here? It was a BAD week for the Bengals. Chad, let your game do the talking. You're one of the best WRs on the planet. When you score TDs and the Bengals are winning again, then you can do the River Dance. Until then, you go under the Bus.
NBA
Enver Nuggets: there is a good reason for this. There is no "D" in Denver. They blew a 22-point lead to Phoenix and lost. Hence, the "Enver". If they miss the playoffs, they can look to that game. For no "D" in the game at Phoenix, the Enver Nuggets go under the Bus.
New York Knicks: they brought in Donnie Walsh, supposedly to clean the mess that Isiah Thomas left. Now Walsh wants to EVALUATE Thomas before making a decision? Doesn't he know that the Knicks always catch fire at the end of the season and save Isiah's job? For not whacking Thomas, the Knicks and Donnie Walsh are to be thrown under the Bus.
Miami Heat: they're playing for the Derrick Rose Sweepstakes. (Rose is an UBER-stud who will be a great NBA player for the next decade and a half.) They've mailed it in. Just forfeit your regular games and let Pat Riley take his extended vacation. Until then, you go Under The Bus.
FORMULA ONE
Max Mosley: it's rare that F1 is mentioned on my blog. But I must mention it. Mosley has been accused of an orgy with five skanks, errrrrr, hookers in which #### role playing was part of the orgy. If Mosley wants to roll with hookers, that's his choice. The #### role playing went WAAAAAAAAY TOO FAR. Let him roll with hookers on his own time and NOT while he's running F1. Mosley gets thrown under the Bus for his indiscretion.
MLB
ESPN: they get thrown under the Bus for two reasons.
They glorified that patently absurd position known as the Designated Hitter. I call it the Disabled Hitter. Today marked the 35th anniversary of this "momentous" occasion. (Ron Blomberg was the first DH in MLB history on April 6, 1973) I've long been an advocate of eliminating the DH and replacing that slot with an extra player. For glorifying the absurd, ESPN goes under the Bus, along with the man who thought of the DH.
For endlessly hyping the first Yankees-Red Sox series of the season. It's only been in recent years both teams have been good at the same time. When the Yankees have sucked, the Sox have been good, and vice versa. Yes, it's a bitter rivalry, I get that. But don't act like they're the only two teams in MLB that matter. For that, and for perpetuating the hype machine that is the Yankees-Red Sox, ESPN goes under the Bus.
NCAA Football
Florida State Seminoles: for firing its college football color analyst Peter Tom Willis for no apparent reason. Why? Because he stepped on some toes with his brutal honesty regarding the Seminoles' program? Was it because Emperor, errrrrrrrr, Coach Bobby Bowden wanted him run because he DARED to criticize Jeff Bowden's handling of the offense? For more reasons, go to Lisa H's blog on this. She did a tremendous job on this! Florida State goes under the Bus.
Those are my nominees for the week. Feel free to come on in with yours! If you have someone in sports you want to throw under the Bus, feel free to do so here!
I am from Central California. I am passionate about sports, particularly the NFL and NASCAR. My favorite teams are: Panthers (NFL), Lakers (NBA), Flyers (NHL), and Dodgers (MLB). I am also a Kevin Harvick fan in NASCAR. I am a Fresno State honk. (I'll admit it!) And I am also a fan of MMA. Jackie Robinson to this day represents what is right about baseball. I also enjoy discussing the relevant (and sometimes irrelevant) issues of the day pertaining to sports. I will never understand why televised poker is so popular. Who wants to see a bunch of people sitting around a table, muttering to themselves? I do my best to keep politics out of my sports discussions. That is why I recently created a nonsports blog, cencalscribe. blogspot.com. That is where I post my nonsports topics.