Back in January I started writing a series of posts that I called SoCal’s Daily Affirmations.I have written with that byline three or four times.The nice part of this format is that I get to address several issues in one post and then dispense my advice to the people I am writing about in the format of an affirmation from Stuart Smalley.What that really means is that I could not find one topic that I wanted to rant about so I chose four.Today I am going to tackle Barry Bonds, Pat Riley, Lance Armstrong, and Larry Brown.
Barry Bonds is still the most feared baseball hitter in the game and also a threat in other ways.Last night in the game against Oakland, with one out and the bases loaded, Blanton walked Barry with four straight pitches.The A’s would rather walk in a run than give Barry a shot at a grand slam.That speaks volumes about how feared his bat still is.Bonds is still one of the all time greatest players in my book and he proved it again this past week.He was on ESPN for a web gem earlier, robbing someone of a HR with a great catch over the wall and then last night he steals a base.Looks like his knee is feeling better which can only mean one thing, he is playing next year.Watch out Henry Aaron!I see Bonds at DH next season and becoming the ALL TIME HR holder. Barry, please repeat after me, "I can hit with power, I can take walks, I make 20+ million a year, and I can still even steal bases; gosh darn it, who cares if people like me!
The NBA season is over and the Miami Heat are the champions.For those who don’t believe me, I predicted this would happen way back on December 12 when Pat Riley was made the coach of the Heat.Go back and read my post which did not garner even one comment. Many felt it was unfair of Riley to force Stu Van Gundy out and replace the coach with himself.Well the Heat have their championship and Riley another ring so maybe it is time to acknowledge that Pat coming back was a good thing.I know all the talk about Dwyane Wade being the reason they won is out there, but Riley was the catalyst to this organization winning it all.He was the architect of this team and he needs to get his due. Pat repeat after me, "I can still slick what hair I have left back, I know how to coach, I am mentioned in Glory Road, my players like me, and gosh darn it, I can outdance Shaq."
Lance Armstrong admits to taking EPO and other steroids according to his former best friend, Frankie Andreu, (Gee, I wonder why they aren’t best friends anymore!)Betsy Andreu, Frankie’s wife, also says she heard Lance admit to using steroids as he was talking with one of Armstrong’s cancer doctors back in 1996.For the record, this should come as no surprise.Lance will deny and no one will be able to prove it.It is all hearsay and Lance has provided an affidavit from his doctor saying he did not admit to taking steroids.Sounds a bit like the Bonds’ case if you ask me.Leaked grand jury testimony, attorney-client privilege, and doctor-patient relationship are just a few of the so called sources of information, none of which can be verified.Barry and Lance will never be proven to have taken steroids because of these types of sources of information, but in our hearts we will always know that both of these men took them.Assuredly, just as Barry took steroids, Lance Armstrong did take EPO, and in my opinion that should not diminish his record seven Tour De France titles.What Lance did on a bicycle is equal to or even greater than what Babe Ruth did with a bat.His record seven wins may stand forever in the cycling world.And while taking EPO is risky, almost every cycler who is competitive has taken EPO or other designer steroids at sometime during their career.Armstrong is no exception.Did he take EPO from 1999-2005, no one knows for sure, but like Barry, Lance can say he has never tested positive for anything.That should count for something. Lance repeat after me, "I am the best cyclist to ever live. I was paid lots of money for riding a bike, date beautiful women, and now get paid huge appearance and endorsement fees. I will not stress out about steroid allegations that will never be proven. I beat cancer and gosh darn it, I should be glad that I am alive!"
Larry Brown is out and Isiah Thomas is in as the coach of the New York Knicks.Dolan is an ####.Isiah has single-handedly destroyed the Knicks franchise.He brought in two guards who are not compatible, over paid, and then fired a legend so that he could coach again.Honestly, if you wanted to coach that badly, you should have just stepped up to the plate and hired yourself last season.Why bring in Brown for 10 million a year only to fire the guy at the end of the season.Brown will land on his feet somewhere, Sacramento, and the Knicks are going to pay through the nose for firing him.Don’t think you will be able to avoid a huge buyout on his contract because of his roadside interviews because any judge or arbitrator will rule in Brown’s favor.I for one think Brown is one of the top three coaches in the NBA and the Knicks organization fired the wrong guy.The only positive for Thomas is that the Knicks only won 23 games so anything he does will look better next year which just might give Isiah one more year. Larry repeat after me, "I have an NBA championship ring, a college championship ring, and one of the best records in all of basketball. I am glad to be out of NY and I don't know what possessed me to go there in the first place, (10 Million reasons). I will coach again and when I do it will not be with three of the biggest egos in the NBA, Marbury, Francis, and Thomas. Gosh darnit, I married well and have enough money that I should enjoy life without all the hassles. Watch out Hubie!"
SoCalSportsFan
(On a side note, I find it very difficult not to type Isiah as Isaiah, which is the traditional spelling for that name.)
Good Stuff SoCal. I don't think Bonds is nearly as good as a hitter as he once was, walking him with bases loaded just shout "We're wimps" about the oppenants.
Riley turned all sorts of "Me" players like Williams, GP, and Walker into role playing teammates. Coaching job well done Oil Slick.
Those French really do hate Lance eh? Your right, they'll never prove a thing.
Very nice. I was in chile on Dec.12 and I was no where near blogging...Although I did follow some sports online...
Congrats.
Do you think Bonds and Kent really don't like each other? Great series is greater, if so...
Lance survived life threatening cancer. The whole Barry thing would be diifferent if Bonds had the same thing... And cycling? Do we care about it as much as the French?
baseball is sacred 'round these parts...
Riley started the whole "repeat" thing...
Isaih may have a vision of a backcourt threesoome like himself, Joe and Vinnie...
I tend to agree w/ MrNFL on Bonds. If a team still won't pitch to him, they have no reason to win the ballgame. He's struggling physically and mentally. And God knows he can't still steal bases. He limps to first. And that's when he gets walked. He's a defensive liability and not worth the few homeruns he can still hit or the money that they're shelling out to him. My guess is he'll land in the American League next year and for however long it takes him to break the record and ruin the history of one of baseball's most hallowed records. He still insults me. I'm sorry, I almost went off on a rant there but dammit I hate the guy.
Ed, in Chile? What's in Chile besides some unbelievable beauty. As for the French, they do hate Lance. They can not stand to have an American with the all time record in the Tour.
Dmitch, I find it intrigueing that one so young could hate one like Bonds so much. Has he done anything personally to you or your loved ones? As for stealing, he did steal a base last night and he is getting better each week. Love him or hate him, he will set the new HR record and I would bet he loses less sleep over what you think as compared to how much sleep you lose over him. Barry is no worse than Ruth or any other player who has sought out an edge. He has not been caught yet, I might add. Sosa on the other hand had his corked bat, Big Mac his legal Andro, and Raffy, well his B-12.
I find it intriguing that one so young as myself could be the one that understands the effect that this has on baseball. I am a major, old-school, baseball purist. I have to remind myself everyday how I missed out on baseball's "good ol' days". I enjoy watching the old classic games as opposed to the game today because players disgrace how the game was meant to be played. And Barry Bonds leads the pack of those who disgrace it. Found guilty or not, every man, woman and their dog knows that he is guilty of it. The fact that he still goes on to break the record infuriates me. He does nothing to his team but hurt it by being a defensive liability and the legal problem bring nothing but bad press, he has nothing left to prove. He isn't playing for a World Series title. He is playing for the sole purpose of breaking the record. When the reason you play changes from winning to personal gain, that's when it's time to give it up.
And please, Barry Bonds isn't worth losing sleep over. I sleep comfortably every night knowing that at least he knows he isn't worth a damn.
i dont know why teams are still so afraid of bonds. he's a shell of his former self, and is not hitting well at all this year.
lance armstrong....never liked him, dont care if he did steroids, i have enough reasons already to think he's a worthless hump.
pat riley boosted his own ego by winning another title. this summer he'll be busy once again making all sorts of trades to try and get back there again next year. i dont like him either, but there was no way stan van gundy was going to get that team to the finals, much less win it.
not a fan of larry brown either, but for a change he wasnt to blame for all the #### that happened in NY....isiah was, and will prove on the bench this year just how stupid he really is.....i wouldnt be surprised to see him come out of retirement and play too, because the knicks really need another point guard.
A quick question about the Lance Armstrong/ Frankie Andreu thing...Andreu is claiming that Lance admitted to using various types of steroids prior to any of his Tour victories, while he was battling cancer...
who cares? As far as I can tell Andreu is not claiming that he used them during any of his tour victories, so again, who cares? Also, I am not very familiar with the different types of cancer treatment, but is it possible that he was legally prescribed steroids to combat the side effects of chemotherapy and other treatments? Even if they were legal, being the type of athlete that Lance is, I dont think he would ever want to admit to using them.
And I wonder why this is just coming out now, rather than after Lance's first victory? If this were a "moral" type thing, where he couldn't sleep at night because he knew Lance was cheating, he would have said this much sooner. This stinks of extortion and blackmail to me...
Cuz whether you think Bonds can hit or not is irrelevant. He has more HR's right now than lots of batters and that is only hitting in half the games. He is still a tremendous hitter.
Tom, it is not extortion. It is a newspaper and they are not asking for money. There were no tests for EPO back when Lance supposedly took it. EPO is a blood hormone used to increase the number of red blood cells which allows cyclers to have more oxygen in their system. Important when you are peddling miles on end. Not all steroids are for muscle growth, a common misconception. As for steroids for his cancer treatment, that is a big no no. He had testicular cancer which had moved to his brain. Cancer is an out of control growth of cells so you in no way want to put a hormone in your system which speeds up growth of any kind of cell be it blood or muscle. The reason his doc asked if he was taking any steroids is because they could be linked to his cancer.
As to why it is coming out now, the French paper has to prove he did it so they do not look like idiots for sending back his blood samples from 1999 when he won his first Tour win. The French hate him because he surpassed an ancient record held by a frenchman in the Tour. If he did use in 1999, they may be able to erase his name from the record books.
Last edited by socalsportsfan on June 25th at 7:36 AM.
I was getting at extortion on the part of the Andreu's. Maybe its because I expect the worst in people, but after their relationship fell apart, I think they realized an opportunity burn Lance, either financially or publicly. They could have told him "pay us or we will state, under oath, that you admitted to using steroids." I am probably thinking this because I have a man-crush on Lance, and I obviously have no evidence to support it, but the details surrounding the story just seem off to me.
I find it odd that his doctors, some of which seem to have very high ranking jobs (and therefore much to lose by lying under oath), did not corroborate the Andreu's story in the least. And the wife couldn't remember which doctor Lance told this story to? This seems like a major event, the kind where you would remember details like that.
Hey Tom, I suppose the Andreu's could be extorting Lance, but then why tell the story. You will not get any money now and in fact you might get a lawsuit from Lance for defamation of character. As far as remembering the dates and names, it was in 1996. I have a hard time remembering anything about the births of my four kids and yet my wife knows the most intimate details. Some things stick in our brains and others do not.
The real deal is chances are he did take EPO, but it will never be proven. The doctors he had will not reveal what he disclosed to them because it is protected under patient-doc privilege. So we only have accusations which appear good enough to be fact in this country.
socal- the bonds issue currently is why i have always said i dont see why pitchers avoid guys who hit a relatively high number of homeruns, while their batting average is not that great. not that bonds is a strikeout king, but if he just hits the ball on the ground, more than likely he cant run out an infield single, and balls to the outfield that normally would be doubles are long singles for him, what with his bad knee(s). but no matter how good a guy is or how dangerous a homerun hitter, NEVER walk a man with the bases loaded...whether it be intentionally, or "pitching around" a hitter.
but for bonds specifically, he's not even close to being the same player he was 2 years ago, and that alone would be reason enough to pitch to him, at least until he proves he can hit consistently again, IF he can do that.
Back in January I started writing a series of posts that I called 
Barry Bonds is still the most feared baseball hitter in the game and also a threat in other ways.
The NBA season is over and the Miami Heat are the champions.
Larry Brown is out and Isiah Thomas is in as the coach of the New York Knicks.
