"Daily newspapers all need to put '####' in a headline above the fold one day -- it'll solve all their problems."
This column got its start in an alt-weekly -- that is, an altenative newsweekly, Isthmus of Madison (WI). From there, it flew off to another alt-weekly, the Milwaukee Shepherd-Express -- until their editor-killer publisher decided to sack the entire editorial staff.
If you think I'm kidding, simply do a Google search with the words "Milwaukee" "editor" and "killer" and you'll be rewarded (if that's the proper word) with his name.
So, back in the goodle days, I was also the webmaster for the Shep and so got to read "Savage Love" on a regular basis before it got to print.
Dan Savage hadn't intended to be a sex advice columnist, but since stumbling into the job (at a time before such columns were everywhere), his graphic, humorous, honest writing has been a staple in the paper, and is currently syndicated to many alternative papers across the U.S. and in Canada.
He spoke to mediabistro.com recently about what he thinks dailies need to do to solve their problems.
Dailies continue to try and swim around with an anvil under each arm. One anvil is objectivity and the other is "family newspaper." Alt-weeklies have the luxury of publishing writing by adults, to adults, and for adults. And that's a real advantage. It's a style advantage, it's an attitudinal advantage, and it's also an urban advantage.
The dailies here in Seattle we call the "donuts" because they write to the suburbs and they don't write for the city, or advocate for the city. Their worldview and their attitudes are suburban, because that's who they think their subscribers are. People pile up in cities not because they don't like yards, but because they want to get laid. People want to be where other people are, and we've always advocated for good urban values.
Alt-weeklies are really just about advocacy journalism and truth-telling, and they engage in arguments and throw bombs in the way that daily papers can't allow themselves to. I mean, daily newspapers all need to put "####" in a headline above the fold one day -- it'll solve all their problems. That's my prescription. And then in one fell swoop they'll get rid of all those 80-year-old subscribers who won't let them drop "Blondie." Catering to the 80-year-olds? Where's that getting newspapers? Making sure there's nothing in your paper that's inappropriate for an eighty-year-old to read?
In the Bay area, San Francisco Giants' pitcher Tim Lincecum was named the National League Cy Young Award winner for this past season and damn, if he doesn't look like one of those dope-smoking Olympic snowboarders.
(Now, I'm not making a judgement call here on either activity, even if I have far more and better experience with one and not so much the other.)
The kid did what all kids do when they hear something really cool.
"Woo-hoo!" the kid shouted.
That's what you do when you're 24 and win the most prestigious award your profession can bestow. Woo-hoo! You call your dad, text your friends and then you show up at the ballpark in a black knit cap and white T-shirt looking like you just skateboarded down the Embarcadero.
Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum put the exclamation point on his meteoric rise through baseball Tuesday, winning the National League Cy Young Award after just his first full season in the majors.
The kid showed up at the ballpark Tuesday but forgot to bring an attitude or an entourage. He and his roommate were trying to reconnect to the Internet when he got the news — which shocked him. He came to the news conference alone, thanked a bunch of people and couldn't stop grinning when he was introduced as the Cy Young winner, something that will happen for, oh, only the rest of his life.
In one season, Lincecum has managed to transform the Giants' public face from surly aging superstar (Barry Bonds) to fresh, unique youngster (Lincecum). In an otherwise lost year, Lincecum gave Giants fans a reason for hope, a reason to be excited. And his electric presence wasn't just a local phenomenon; it was noticed around the country.
There were other baseball happenings in the Bay area as the Oakland A's traded for slugger Matt Holliday, concluding a four-player deal that brings Oakland a much-needed middle-of-the-order bat and sends pitchers Huston Street and Greg Smith and young outfielder Carlos Gonzalez to the Colorado Rockies.
The A's apparently are looking at Holliday as a one-year (or less) prospect , much as they did Johnny Damon, another outfielder obtained in a high-profile deal eight years ago. Agent Scott Boras, who represents both men, praised Beane for the nearly finished deal.
"I called Billy and let him know what a smart guy he is," Boras said. "He basically traded Dan Haren (to Arizona in December) for Matt Holliday, Brett Anderson, Aaron Cunningham, Dana Eveland and Chris Carter."
Gonzalez was the centerpiece of the deal that sent All-Star starter Haren to the Diamondbacks last winter, and Smith also was part of that trade.
Holliday has one year remaining on his contract for $13.5 million. He is expected to be out of Oakland's price range, especially with Boras (Alex Rodriguez, Barry Zito, Manny Ramirez) as his agent. Boras called Holliday "a franchise player," and in Boras-speak, that means he's likely to look for more than $20 million a year for his client.
Boras argued that such players wind up paying for themselves in terms of productivity and increased attendance, and he added, "Matt Holliday single-handedly put his club in the World Series (in 2007). Owners don't forget that."
"I don't think anyone envisions that he'll get signed to a long-term deal here," Chavez said. "But in terms of an immediate return, he's huge."
There is rampant speculation that if the A's aren't in contention in July with a promising young pitching staff and a beefed-up offense that Beane would look to move Holliday in a blockbuster-type deal. Or, if Holliday left as a free agent as Damon did, the A's would take the draft picks for losing him.
Even though the deal has not been finalized, there already are rumblings that the Rockies will not hang onto Street but will spin him to the Indians, Mets, Tigers or Brewers.
Those Milwaukee Brewers might be in the market for a new closer, as last year's model, Solomon Torres told the club that he was indeed retiring and not returning next season.
Beat reporter Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Torres informed Milwaukee Brewers general manager Doug Melvin on Tuesday morning that he was retiring as an active player. The club made the announcement official later in the day.
The Brewers had a $3.75 million option for 2009 on Torres, which they would have exercised by the Saturday deadline after his strong performance as an emergency closer last season.
"I wanted to make it easy for him," said Torres, 36, reached at home in Pittsburgh. "I already had made up my mind and wanted to tell him this was my last season."
Torres, 36, a deeply religious man, said he wanted to devote more time to his family, including three young children, as well as his faith.
"Doug was very understanding, which I appreciate," Torres said. "I had a wonderful experience in Milwaukee, but he knows I am serious about it."
Torres' decision did not completely surprise Melvin, who had heard "whispers" that the veteran reliever might retire.
"We would have liked to have him back," said Melvin. "He did a heck of a job for us. He's a real professional and a good teammate, and he's coming off his best year. I give him credit and I respect his decision."
Torres took over for the faltering Eric Gagné in late May as closer and was a stalwart, saving a career-high 28 games in 32 chances from that point (he was 28 for 35 overall). He led the Brewers with 71 appearances and 80 innings out of the bullpen, compiling a 7-5 record and 3.49 ERA.
Torres' numbers were much better until a September fade in which he posted a 12.46 ERA over his last 10 outings. He said the fact that he would walk away from the $3.75 million option shows how serious he is about retiring.
"It was a given (that the Brewers would exercise the option)," said Torres. "It's a small sacrifice I'm making."
Torres briefly thought of retiring after he was traded to the Brewers last December from Pittsburgh but decided to give it a shot in Milwaukee. He said he was grateful for doing so, especially after experiencing the playoffs for the first time. Torres saved the Brewers only victory in the NLDS against Philadelphia, escaping a bases-loaded, no-out jam in Game 3.
"It was a great season," he said. "I thank everybody in the city - the fans, my teammates, the reporters - for all their support. It was a privilege to play there but you don't want to have me there half-hearted."
Torres retired in August 1997 after pitching for Seattle and Montreal that season, but returned to baseball in 2002 after signing a minor league deal with Pittsburgh. He said he would not change his mind this time about leaving.
"I know I'm doing the right thing, for me and my family," he said.
The loss of Torres creates a significant hole in a bullpen already thinned by free agency. Set-up men Guillermo Mota and Gagne and left-handed specialist Brian Shouse became free agents after the season.
"We'll see what offers they get on the market and determine what we want to do," said Melvin. "We haven't given a lot of thought to the bullpen yet. We've got other holes to fill first.
"There are more relief pitchers out there than starting pitchers and left-handed bats we're interested in. It usually takes some time to put together your bullpen."
Melvin mentioned hard-throwing right-hander Seth McClung as an internal option to try as closer. He said he didn't plan to bid on high-priced free agent closers such as Francisco Rodriguez and Brian Fuentes.
Personally, I wouldn't mind if the Brewers at least tried the afore-mentioned McClung in that role.
Finally, loyal readers may have noticed the rushed nature of this column in recent weeks. There is a very good reason, as this writer has taken on new employment. While it may not be writing or broadcasting sports for a living, this minor disappointment is tempered by the fact that some 13,000 Americans lost their jobs last week alone.
Still, yesterday came and went without one mention of Veteran's Day or Remembrance Day or whatever they call it in your country. November 1, 1918 was the end of the "War to end all wars," though we're still slogging through not one, but two wars at present, World War I is more than a footnote. And incredibly, there are still survivors of that conflict who are able to give a first-person viewpoint to us in the 21st Century.
The last surviving British World War I veterans, Henry Allingham,112, Harry Patch, 110, and Bill Stone, 108, gathered at the start of the Armistice Day commemorations in London yesterday and Chris Hampson, NBC News Director of International News gave this account of one of them -- his grandfather.
In 1911 he had lied about his age to join the fledgling Territorial Army – the reserves affectionately known as "the Terriers," and disparagingly as "Saturday afternoon soldiers."
But in the cold and bitter winter of 1914, with the British Regular Army exhausted and barely holding the line in Flanders, 19-year-old James Gordon Leigh and his regiment of part-timers found himself in France, fighting for his country – and probably his life.
In 1916 he’d served the five years he’d signed up for and was discharged. A few months later he was back in, re-enlisting for the duration. In the months in-between, his Army mates had been through the slaughter of the Somme. There but for the grace of God.
He didn’t ever talk to me about his time in the war – he was a stern and gruff man who frankly scared the bejabbers out of me, and my father too. He would sit by the fire wearing a forbidding big leather belt and severe black boots.
I learned only later that he’d suffered a shrapnel wound to his left ankle in one of the battles he’d been caught up in. The boots were the only footwear he was comfortable wearing.
After the war was over, Grandad Leigh lived most of his life just a few yards away from the gate of his old regimental barracks, and would spend many evenings drinking in the Sergeants’ Mess. Family legend has it that he liked to step outside for the occasional beer-fuelled brawl, and knew how to "take care of himself."
But that sense of "mateship" – of having lived through experiences that set him apart – never left him. Or us.
So I watched the dignifiedceremony at the Cenotaph in London’s Whitehalltoday with more than a passing interest.
Ninety years after peace was declared in World War I, the three surviving British veterans took their rightful place at the heart of our remembrance. The youngest is 108. The oldest is 112.
Accompanying them were brave men and women whose courage has won special recognition in more recent conflicts.
My grandfather died many years ago. It is touching – and right – that what he and millions of others went through on behalf of their countries, and what many more have done so since, should not be forgotten.
The three old gents in their wheelchairs today helped make sure they are not.
If you were looking forward to the antics of Mark Cuban running the Chicago Cubs, the Sun Times claims you can simply forget it.
Global financial crisis or not, baseball's old guard plans to stand firm against letting Cuban into the club. ''There's no way Bud and the owners are going to let that happen,'' a Major League Baseball source said this week. ''Zero chance.''
On Opening Day 2007, the Cubs officially went on the market. Zell's group was hoping for a quick transaction, certainly before Opening Day 2008. That same MLB source promised a deal won't be done by Opening Day 2009.
''We'll be standing here at next year's GM meetings,'' the source said, ''and this will still be unresolved.''
All of this likely will put the group headed by John Canning Jr. -- Selig's personal favorite -- back as the front-runner.
Either way, the slow process figures to have a financial effect on the Cubs, who are pursuing expensive San Diego Padres ace Jake Peavy and still have their eyes on free-agent pitchers Ryan Dempster and CC Sabathia. A potential deal for Baltimore Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts, who's a year away from free agency, could include a new, richer contract.
Already, the payroll figures to make a significant jump in '09 with so many backloaded contracts. Among the notable pay raises, outfielder Kosuke Fukudome goes from $6 million to $11.5 million, pitcher Ted Lilly from $7 million to $12 million, pitcher Jason Marquis from $6.37 million to $9.87 million, left fielder Alfonso Soriano from $13 million to $16 million, third baseman Aramis Ramirez from $14 million to $15.65 million and pitcher Carlos Zambrano from $15 million to $17.5 million.
Will the Cubs' ownership question put a crimp in general manager Jim Hendry's ambitious offseason plans?
''We'll be given a fair payroll number,'' Hendry said. ''I don't have a final figure yet, but there is no indication that we are going to go backward. We're in the middle of a pretty good situation. The last couple of years, we've got it going in the right direction, and we don't have an old team. We still have a lot of positives, and our [minor-league and scouting] departments are doing real well.''
Had Cuban purchased the Cubs, there was a feeling he'd open the checkbook even wider to end the team's 100-year World Series title drought. But this week at the GM meetings, Selig cautioned executives to be prudent in the face of the world financial crisis.
''There are some very real issues in the global economy,'' White Sox GM Ken Williams said. ''For any of us to believe this isn't going to ultimately affect our business, you have to have your head in the sand.''
As I mentioned earlier this week, after the election, this isn't the time to gloat. Still, it seems like the time to throw garbage at Sarah Palin, if you're one of the losing Republicans. As Gail Collins observes in the New York Times.
The Republicans are being way more nasty to Sarah Palin than the Democrats are to Lieberman. They’ve been portraying her as both a shopaholic and a woman who walks around in nothing but a bath towel, a hillbilly who’s also a prima donna. The leakathon climaxed this week when Fox News’s Carl Cameron announced that Palin did not know that Africa was a continent.
Palin says this is untrue. But the worst part is that if these people get any meaner, we’re going to wind up feeling sorry for her. This is not something we are looking forward to, Republicans, and we will resent you for it.
"Mutts like me."
Obama made the remark as he revealed his thinking in what kind of puppy will he and his wife, Michelle, get for their daughters as they move into the White House.
Because Malia, 10, has allergies, the family wants a low-allergy dog. But Obama said they also want to adopt a puppy from an animal shelter, which could make it harder to find a breed that wouldn't aggravate his daughter's problem.
"Obviously, a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me," Obama told the Associated Press with a smile. "So whether we're going to be able to balance those two things, I think, is a pressing issue on the Obama household."
The man who will be president in just over two months described himself as a mutt as casually as he may have poked fun at his jump shot.
Baseball's winter meetings are taking place in California this week and the biggest topic of conversation is the San Diego Padres' presumed trade of ace pitcher Jake Peavy, with the Atlanta Braves the alleged frontrunner.
David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the Braves made it clear they won’t trade top pitching prospect Tommy Hanson, the right-hander that Padres GM Kevin Towers craves as the centerpiece in a trade package for Peavy.
The Braves have at least $40 million to spend on 2009 additions and hope to land two proven starting pitchers and a power-hitting outfielder this winter. They are looking far and wide, including to the other side of the Pacific Rim, where a Braves representative met over the weekend with hard-throwing Japanese free-agent pitcher Junichi Tazawa.
Boston and Seattle also are vying for the services of Tazawa, whose price tag won’t be nearly as prohibitive as some Japanese stars coming the majors. Tazawa pitched in the Japan’s Industrial League and was passed over by the country’s 12 highest-level teams after making it clear he wanted to come pitch in the United States.
Peavy, an Alabama native, has a no-trade clause and told his agent the Braves were among five NL teams he’d want to be traded to if he can’t stay with the Padres, whose owner is going through a divorce and wants to slash Padres payroll in advance of a team sale.
St. Louis was also on that list and is expected to make an offer for Peavy, but doubts have been raised over whether Cardinals have enough young talent to entice the Padres.
Milwaukee could present a package to compete with a Braves offer, but some who know Peavy doubt he’d waive his no-trade clause to be dealt to Milwaukee. He has homes in San Diego and Semmes, Ala., outside Mobile, and also owns a lodge on the Alabama River in the northern part of the state.
A person familiar with the Peavy situation said Braves officials met with Padres general manager Kevin Towers on Sunday night and again Monday, and the two sides discussed several proposals that didn’t include Hanson, whom the Braves refuse to part with.
Braves general manager Frank Wren spoke only in general terms. “We had some conversations with general managers and also some conversations with [representatives of] free agents,” he said.
Towers wants two young pitchers in any package for Peavy, 27, the 2007 National League Cy Young Award winner who is under contract for $63 million over the next four seasons, or $81 million for five if an option is exercised.
Even with Hanson off the table, the Braves might be able to do a trade that included two from among other young pitchers including Charlie Morton and James Parr, left-hander Jo-Jo Reyes and prospects Kris Medlen and lefties Cole Rohrbough and Jeff Locke.
There were reports the Braves might go for Peavy with a trade package including shortstop Yunel Escobar and one of their center-field prospects, Jordan Schafer or Gorkys Hernandez.
Meanwhile, the LA Times claims that free agents CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira are drawing the most interest at the meetings. Sabathia received an offer from the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend that is believed to be worth about $100 million, according to multiple reports. He is expected to fetch more on the open market.
Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman confirmed that while that's an incredible, unprecedented move for the small-market team, and Sabathia remarked several times during the season how much he liked playing and living in Milwaukee, the Brewers are still viewed as a major long shot in what promises to be a spirited derby.
Brewers GMDoug Melvin this morning confirmed that an offer was made to Sabathia but declined to discuss the dollar figure for the 28-year-old left-hander who went 17-10 with a 2.70 ERA overall and 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA with Milwaukee. Word here is that the proposal was for four or five years and between $20 and $25 million, and quite possibly for $100 million over five years.
"We've given him a proposal,'' Melvin confirmed.
The competition will be stiff. The Yankees, desperately hoping to upgrade their rotation, are expected to make a big play for Sabathia, and at least the Dodgers and Angels are expected to show strong interest in the Vallejo, Calif. native as well. The world champion Phillies could also emerge as a surprise entrant in a derby that's expected to wind up well into the nine figures. He could beat Johan Santana's record $137.5-million Mets contract, though probably not with the Brewers.
Melvin declined to categorize the Brewers' chances but acknowledged the difficulty of any team retaining a major free agent once it gets to this stage.
"I don't remember the last time a club re-signed their own free agent,'' Melvin said. "We have a better opportunity than we would have thought. We probably wouldn't have made an offer for CC if he didn't do what he did for our club and seen what kind of individual he is.''
While everyone agrees Sabathia is a fine person, it still will be difficult to overcome a major dollar deficit. The other 29 teams are disallowed from making offers to Sabathia until 15 days after the World Series ended (Nov. 14), but the Brewers and Sabathia both understand they won't be the high bidder in this derby. The Yankees will most likely be that team.
"We know he liked the experience and he liked some of his (Brewers) teammates,'' Melvin said. "We'll just have to wait to hear from his guy. There are a lot of questions. Is it the right money? Is it where he wants to be?''
Tennessee fans are getting what they've been clamoring for -- the dismissal of head coach Phillip Fulmer at seasons' end. Still, Tony Barnhart, perhaps the South's top college football writer doubts whether the scholl can land the rock star coaching talent that would satisfy the fan base and compete in the SEC.
Tennessee is one of the toughest jobs in all of college football. It’s because the expectation is that Tennessee will be on par with Alabama, Florida, and Georgia on a yearly basis without some of the built-in advantages that those programs have, especially in recruiting. When Tennessee had it going in the 1990s, Fulmer and his staff were able to dip down into Georgia and Alabama for great players. Now Richt and recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner, a former Tennessee assistant, have put up a wall around Georgia. Saban is doing the same thing at Alabama.
The new head coach at Tennessee has to accept the fact he will have to recruit nationally and work significantly harder in order to get the talent to compete with those three schools. Can it be done? Absolutely. Tennessee will spend whatever it takes to recruit. But it is hard.
The other names I see out there are younger coaches who would want to step up. Here is where it gets tricky and where, if Hamilton hires the wrong guy, he could be the next guy out the door.
Do you turn the keys to the Tennessee football franchise over to a Mike Leach (Texas Tech), whose offense is entertaining but plays in a league where the best defense (Texas Tech) is ranked No. 54 in the country?
Do you hire a young up and comer like Will Muschamp, 37, who looks like the next Bob Stoops or Mark Richt but has no head coaching experience?
Do you completely step outside your comfort zone and hire a Todd Graham (Tulsa) or Chris Peterson (Boise State) with no ties to the South?
Jon Gruden? Lane Kiffin? Are you kidding me?
Here’s the point. You can’t just plug anybody into a job like Tennessee, no matter how successful they might be elsewhere. There is a cultural component to this job that must be taken into account. Some Tennessee fans say they want to find the football version of Bruce Pearl. Pearl is a brilliant combination of basketball coach/promoter. But basketball and football in this part of the world are like Venus and Mars. What works on one planet does not work on the other.
That is why this is going to be such a tough hire. Let’s put it this way. Alabama, for all its great tradition, had to go through a painful process with some very public turn downs (Rich Rodriguez) before it convinced Nick Saban to come. Saban and his agent, Jimmy Sexton, had all the leverage and were able to extract one of the best contracts in college football history. Tennessee now finds itself in the same situation.
One suggestion to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Badger Blog was for the Wisconsin Badgers to pick up Fulmer and send suddenly-embattled Bret Bielema off to Knoxville. Long-time beat reporter Jeff Potrykus isn't convinced that the UW should dump him, but does ask fans for their thoughts.
Call me an apologist (that's been done) or tell me I'm walking on egg shells around the head coach (been accused of that, too) but I just don't believe one very disappointing season out of three warrants a pink slip.
I believe that holds true for all workers -- from football coaches to ditch diggers and even lawyers.
I wonder if the same folks calling for Bielema's head were calling for Alvarez's head after UW finished 4-5-2 in 1995. That sub-.500 finish came after an 8-3-1 finish in 1994 (helped by a Michigan State forfeit), which came after a 10-1-1 finish in 1993.
It seems some folks have chosen to ignore that dip, or the dip in 2001 and '02.
Not everyone is calling for Bielema's head, though.
Many of you are calling for my head because of my failure to hold Bielema "accountable."
So I ask today: What in the world does that mean?
According to the Associated Press, Bielema says he lost some credibility with his players after being penalized while complaining about a call at a critical point in the team's 25-24 loss to Michigan State.
But he says the penalty is not an indication of a lack of maturity. At 38, Bielema is the fourth youngest coach in NCAA Bowl Subdivision football.
Bielema agreed when asked if he lost some credibility with his players because of the penalty. Bielema was penalized late in the game for arguing a call.
He says his reaction was a poor example to the players. But he says that they understand a single play or penalty doesn't determine the outcome of the game.
Bielema says it's something that he will remember and use to become a better person.
Finally, if you think people aren't swayed one way or the other by those political yard signs, then you don't know Shirley Nagel, the Grosse Pointe Farms, MI lady who made a name for herself on Halloween for her refusal to pass out candy to the kids of Obama supporters.
As the Detroit Free Press reported, Nagel planted a sign in her yard that read, "No handouts for Obama supporters, liars, tricksters or kids of supporters". Nagel, according to media reports, brought tears to the eyes of some of the young trick-or –treaters that she turned away.
Isn’t American politics great? Not only are the people you disagree with to be vilified; now their children are to be shunned? Forget the notion that reasonable people can disagree, politics is "war" and if a few children get caught in the crosshairs, well, what’s "war" without a little “collateral damage”?
So Nagel has made history for having the only presidential election yard sign in America that may actually switch a few votes. But probably not in the way she intended.
Hey, she even made Keith Olbermann's list as Worst Person in the World. As Don King would say, only in America!
I can probably sing better than Joe The Plumber too!
The new guy in Milwaukee is the old guy that the players couldn't wait to get rid of in Oakland.
When the Oakland Athletics fired Macha after the 2006 season despite the team claiming an American League West championship, general manager Billy Beane said there was a "disconnect on several levels." Reports surfaced that Macha had poor relationships with some of his players.
None of that mattered much to Milwaukee Brewers general manager Doug Melvin, who made Macha the franchise's 17th manager Thursday when he announced a two-year deal for the 58-year-old career baseball man. As he told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel...
"I had received calls from people that said it wasn't that much of an issue," Melvin said. "If you look in the paper, every ballclub will have issues over the course of the year.
"You're going to have that whether you're a winning club or a losing club. Of all the people I interviewed during this whole process, almost every manager felt they were let go for the same reasons and said there was a disconnect of communication with the players."
At his introductory news conference at Miller Park, Macha said those reports made the situation appear worse than it really was.
Based on comments from several Oakland players after his ouster, it appeared that Macha wasn't well liked and didn't back his players. Jason Kendall, Macha's catcher for two seasons in Oakland, was quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle as saying, "Maybe Billy saw the same thing the players saw. If Billy gets blasted in the media, it's ridiculous."
On Thursday, Kendall, now the Brewers' catcher, said there was more of a communication gap between Beane and Macha than one with the players.
"That whole thing got blown way out of proportion," Kendall said. "His track record speaks for itself. He's a great baseball man.
"I think it was more miscommunication between him and the general manager."
Kendall also said he enjoyed playing for Macha, and Macha said "Jason Kendall won't be a problem."
"When you get dismissed, there has to be a reason, and whatever reason that might be, it sticks with."
A JS-online.com poll has a slight majority of fans thinking that Macha's selection is a good thing. I just don't.
Now that he's made his managerial choice, Melvin's next job is trying to re-sign CC Sabathia. Macha said on Newsradio 620 WTMJ's "Greenhouse," Melvin is preparing an offer to Sabathia that likely will turn into a four-year, $100,000,000 attempt to keep him in Brewers blue and gold.
"We knew when we acquired him, the chances of keeping him were slim, but he enjoyed it here, and because of that, we feel we have at least that opportunity," said Brewers general manager Doug Melvin.
A week ago, it looked like the Wisconsin Badgers had little chance of making even the Motor City Bowl -- the reward to the Big Ten 7th place team. Now, with a victory over Illinois and a 4-4 record, fans are letting themselves dream of a return trip to Florida, albeit to the Champs Sports Bowl.
Vince Sweeney, UW senior associate athletic director, doesn't think those Florida trips will preclude UW from being considered for the Champs Bowl.
"We think we've got fans that follow us," Sweeney told the Badger Beat. "(Florida Citrus Sports') experience with us has been a positive experience. We haven't had any indications come our way that the folks in Orlando are looking for somebody other than us.''
Still, let's not dismiss that Dec. 26 trip to Detroit. Ken Hoffman, the executive director of the Motor City Bowl, never expected to be talking in late October about the possibility of the Wisconsin Badgers football team playing in his bowl.
Yet, one of the many reasons the Badgers would be so appealing to the Motor City Bowl is because they've never been there.
"When you have a chance to have new teams ... that kind of variety is just good for the game," Hoffman said.
"It's good for the city in which the game is played. I think it's really good for the fans who are coming to the game, to see something a little different."
Hoffman might have one of the toughest jobs among all bowl representatives in convincing a Big Ten team that a trip to Ford Field for a Dec. 26 game is a reward.
"Perception is reality," Hoffman admitted. "Some people will have a perception of coming to Detroit that's not what we believe it is. Detroit is so vastly improved from five or 10 years ago. We had the Super Bowl here two years ago.
"While some people understand it's not 75 degrees here in December, we have an awful lot of great things to offer for the winter fans. And the game itself is going to be in perfect weather conditions.''
Finally, I am NOT Joe The Plumber! Some woman at happy hour last night asked if I was and it threw off my whole night.
Sheesh, let me count the ways.
I'm not a plumber.
I'm not a Republican.
I'm not pretending to buy out my boss' business.
I'm not hiring a publicist. (Although, you think I should?)
And I am NOT considering making a country-western recording.
Yes, I shave my head, but that's as far as it goes, lady. I'm having a bad hair life, okay?
It was Opening Night in Oklahoma City as the hometown Thunder took to the NBA hardwoods for the first time. The Commish was there along with a full house in the Ford Center. There was a huge celebration. And then they went out and got rolled by the lowly Milwaukee Bucks.
John Rhode of the Oklahoman observed, "This season could be longer than originally thought, Thunder fans. Given what transpired Wednesday night at the Ford Center, patience not only will be a virtue with the Thunder, it will be a minimum requirement.
The Thunder got rolled by the Milwaukee Bucks 98-87 on opening night inside the Ford Center.
The home team trailed by double-digits for the final 29 minutes and trailed by as many as 24 at one point.
Granted, it's only one game, but is that a good thing or a bad thing?
Keep in mind, people, the Bucks aren't very good.
Much like the Thunder, no one is picking Milwaukee to play more than 82 games this season.
The Bucks wore green, but they hardly resemble the world champion Celtics, who next Wednesday will make their only visit here.
“We didn’t play like we were capable of playing, and that's a shame,” Thunder coach P.J. Carlesimo said afterward.
The Thunder struggled from the very beginning. The effort in the first half was questionable.
All summer long, we've been selling this team as a group that might not win, but it will at least play hard.
The Thunder did neither, and that's unacceptable, even to a bunch of forgiving, impressionable newcomers like us.
As for the Bucks, it appears that new coach Scott Skiles' patience with Charlie Villanueva lasted all of two games. Already, Charlie V is in the doghouse for his intermittant style of defense.
The Phillies finally won that World Series that wouldn't end last night and I'm truly happy for Geoff Jenkins, one of the good guys in the game. The former Milwaukee Brewer was always decent and available to the press. Even though, he didn't play that much, he was a major part of the deciding game.
Many, including ESPN's Mike and Mike In The Morning (yes, THEM again), noted that Ryan Howard became part of an illustrious crew: among the few to win a championship while HR and RBI leader of the season. Babe Ruth was the first and Roger Maris was the most recent before Howard.
But then, some dummy listed Henry Aaron -- which is true, but they listed it as:
Hank Aaron - ATL - 1957
No. no, no, no, no, NO! The MILWAUKEE BRAVES won in 1957.
Yeah well, this same dummy will reply, they're in Atlanta now, so?
SO?!
You don't say the Baltimore Ravens won the 1964 NFL title. You don't say (or at least, you shouldn't say) that the Oklahoma City Thunder won the NBA title in 1979?
Get it right, sheesh...
While we're talking on-air blunders , former Minnesota football coach Glen Mason claimed on the Big Ten Network that -- in his mind -- Michigan State is probably the 3rd best team in the league as "they've beaten Notre Dame and Michigan and Wisconsin..."
Uh, coach? Psst...the Spartans play the Badgers THIS SATURDAY!! Maybe, that attention to detail is why you're a former coach on the moribund Big Ten network, eh?
Finally, tomorrow is Halloween, which here in Madison means that we locals get to exclaim, "AARRRGGGH, what are you doing to my lawn???!!!"
October 31 in Madison means that thousands of drunken college kids ( I know what you're thinking now, there are other kinds?) decend on the city to get arrested as fast as possible. Think, a white trash, colder version of Mardi Gras, with none of the good food.
One year, Sponge Bob -- or some drunk kid -- got busted across from my porch. I saw this as I sat there -- after having 10 or 12 beer bottles thrown at my house. After the 12th, I took my lawn chair and a baseball bat, sat there and just kept saying, "just keep moving, kids."
Anyway, I don't live downtown anymore and October 31 is one of the major reasons why. Still, if you're in town for the festivities, DON'T think you WON'T get arrested.
This just in, Patti LaBelle can still bring down the house...
The talk of the sports world this morning came from an otherwise meaningless game between the currently hapless San Francisco 49ers and the distinctly mediocre Seattle Seahawks.
According to the Sacramento Bee, the new head coach Mike Singletary spoke a lot today about Vernon Davis. And he spoke a lot of about cancers in the locker room and how they can damage a team. But he was careful to separate the two. "Vernon is not a problem," Singletary said. "Vernon is not a problem guy. Vernon forgets sometimes that the team is more important. ... You have to be able to separate the two. He is not a guy who's a distraction on the team."
Which is not to suggest that Singletary isn't still steamed over Davis' performance yesterday. To recap: Davis was hit with a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty when he flicked the underside of Brian Russell's facemask. Singletary said he saw the whole thing and thought Davis was "kidding when he did it." What seemed to upset Singletary more was Davis' reaction. He tried to talk to Davis as he came off the sideline and Davis was defensive. When he looked behind him a few seconds later, Davis was being demonstrative on the bench.
Singletary said he had a conversation just last week with Davis in which he urged the talented tight end to be a leader on the team. His actions on the sideline were entirely opposed to what the new coach was looking for. "It just hit me the wrong way," Singletary said. He said he hadn't yet spoken with Davis and didn't mention any disciplinary action. He said he was not the type of coach who plays psychological games with players and would not give Davis the silent treatment. "It's not that he's out of my good graces," Singletary said. "Not at all. I don't have a doghouse." Which leads one to believe that Davis won't be subject to any disciplinary action ...
If anyone can get his team ready to play, Mike Singletary will do it after the players hear what he said. And I do mean, as in listenhere! Dan Patrick said on his radio show this morning that Singletary sounded like Samuel L. Jackson in "Pulp Fiction" (remember the Ezekiel speech?) after the 49ers lost to the Seattle Seahawks, 34-13, adding "I don't think Singletary was trying to sound tough. I think he simply is tough."
Said Singletary: "... It will change and it will change ... because they want to be champions. ... Our formula is this: We go out and hit people in the mouth, No. 1. No. 2, we are not a charity. We cannot give them the game. That's No. 2. And No. 3 is we execute, from the very start of the game to the very end of the game. That did not happen ..."
There's an old James Brown song,"Talkin' Loud And Sayin' Nothin" -- and I think, after yesterday's rant, we can safely say that ditty does NOT describe the new 49ers head coach.
Meanwhile, back in Seattle, the ax fell this afternoon for UW coach Ty Willingham. Molly Yanity of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports Willingham and athletic director Scott Woodward made the announcement at a news conference Monday.
Willingham has been under fire for being unable to turn around the Washington program.
Woodward has said he did not want to change coaches during the middle of the season. But he said Monday's announcement ends speculation of what is going to happen with Willingham and lets the team focus on the final five games.
The World Series could come to an end in Philadelphia tonight, but that isn't even the talk of the town and it's not the Eagles,either. As Ed Moran of the Philadelphia Daily News explains...maybe it’s because the World Series is in town, but so far there hasn't been the familiar outcry about the "typical" Philadelphia fans that usually erupts after one of those all too-"typical" Philadelphia sports scenes that become legend and get listed right under "throw snowballs at Santa Claus." In this case it was a flaming smoke bomb thrown onto the ice after a contested goal in overtime in Saturday's 3-2 Flyers win over New Jersey in the Wachovia Center. But can the noise be far behind?
It was an outrageous and dangerous act that covered the ice surface with smoke, chased the Devils' coaching staff from the bench and left the city with another fan-based black eye.
"We were not happy," Comcast-Spectacor president Peter Luukko said yesterday. "That was as good a hockey game as can be played and it didn't need that. After all the talk last year about how tough our fans are to play in front of, we went to Washington in the playoffs and someone throws a beer bottle that hits Jeff Carter and in Montreal someone threw a beer into the penalty box that hit Mike Richards and nothing like that happened here. We were angry last night."
So angry, in fact, that the Flyers are conducting an investigation; there is video from security cameras showing two suspects running from the building.
The description being released is of two males about 6 feet tall. One is described as an African-American wearing a white Flyers jersey and a white male also wearing a Flyers jersey, with his face painted.
"We are working diligently to catch the culprit and hope to prosecute the person," Luukko said. "If we find that the person is a season ticketholder, we will permanently cancel their tickets."
As for the National League champion Phillies, the grizzled veteran columnist Bill Conlon opines...Joe Blanton wasn't supposed to be pitching last night. Not according to the army of bloggers, e-mailers and fantasy-team managers who trampled each other deserting Jamie Moyer's corner. Many exhorted me to demand that Pat Gillick, Charlie Manuel, Rich Dubee and all the Phillies' powers-that-be make sure that Moyer was denied his World Series turn in the wake of a brief and ineffective outing in Game 3 of the NLCS in Dodger Stadium.
Give the ball to Joe Blanton in Game 3, for God sakes. Don't send that old man out there again. Please.
Nor was Pat Burrell supposed to be playing left with his ponderous gait. The Bat had to be the DH against the Tampa Bay Rays' Game 1 starter Scott Kazmir. Against the Rays' righties, Ryan Howard had to wear the DH mantle with Greg Dobbs playing first base.
And remember the success Manuel had with the flip-flop of Jayson Werth to No. 6 and Shane Victorino to No. 2 in Game 2 of the Division Series wipeout of CC Sabathia and the Brewers? Shane set the Money Pit ablaze with an epic grand slam. Well, time for the old fliperoo once again, right, Chuck, with the engine room flooded and the Phillies taking more strikes than an Akron bowling alley and abandoning more guys in scoring position than a payday raid on a mining town brothel.
And while you're at it, Cholly, let's stick Burrell in between Utley and Howard to split that inviting left-left arrangement Rays manager Joe Maddon seemed to exploit by using rookie lefthander David Price for an extended Game 2 save. Yep, Manuel said, he had given that some thought when he looked out there and the gifted No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft was going through his lineup a second time.
Just don't expect to see your Honorary Managers Diplomas in the mail anytime soon. You all flunked Double Switch 101, Lineup Chemistry 202 and Hunch-Playing 303.
Jamie Moyer hauled his 45-year-old bones from the cocoon of a 90-minute rain delay and made the latest-ending World Series game in history one of the most memorable. He was amazing, mesmerizing, magicianly, baffling and masterful. The Phillies won an amazingly tense, flawed and quintessentially entertaining Game 3 with a ninth inning that called for a redefining of the word "bizarre."
Joe Blanton pitched on his Game 4 night and authored personal and World Series history. Haystack Joe is reputedly a "contact pitcher." In a 10-2 destruction of the Rays that moved the Phillies into the wind shadow of their second World Series title, Blanton fired seven strikeouts in six-plus electric innings.
But that's not all . . . With two outs in the fifth, Joe put a righthanded version of the Matt Stairs buggywhip stroke on an Edwin Jackson heater and sent a screaming tracer into the leftfield seats. Blanton dragged some impressive records with him running out the first World Series homer by a pitcher since Kenny Holtzman hit one for Oakland in 1974.
Oh, yeah . . . Charlie has played Burrell in left and Howard at first throughout. And when Werth smoked a double and then two-run homer last night, he was batting No. 2 because that's the way Charlie Manuel had it set up, in the thinking he has done since this incredible postseason began. And, once more, Utley and Howard hit back-to-back and the Big Man inside-outed a three-run homer to left and a monster shot, two-run exclamation point, to right off lefthander Trever Miller in the eighth.
A Cleveland writer asked Manuel before the Phillies went 10-3 in the postseason if he is a different manager than he was when leading an Indians team loaded with All-Stars. And has he improved as a manager?
"The same old Charlie," he said. "I'm the same manager I was when I managed in Triple A or Double A, or A ball. I'm the same manager. Just when you win you're better [laughter], and that comes from having better players."
Now, don`cha hate it when you have to explain your jokes? It's never funny afterwards, and yet this column is jam-packed on an everyday basis with allusions and pop culture references. Therefore, I was trying to make a funny when I suggested last Friday that Marlo Thomas would have made a better VP pick than Sarah Palin.
The column was called, I Don't Want THAT Girl. Again from wikipedia...That Girl is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from 1966 to 1971. It starred Marlo Thomas as the title character, Ann Marie, an aspiring (but only sporadically employed) actress, who had moved from her hometown of Brewster, New York to make it big in New York City. Ann had to take a number of offbeat "temp" jobs to support herself in between her various auditions and bit parts, though she nonetheless was able to afford a spacious Manhattan apartment as well as an extensive wardrobe of mod fashions.
So, I was imagining the next SNL skit for Tina Fey and thought of a parody of the show's beginning, where some talent scout would see her in a crowd and explain, "I want that girl!"
Still, I'd argue that Marlo Thomas would STILL be a better candidate than Palin as evidenced by her exhaustive charity work. One more time from the wiki-folks...
Lastly, I think we can all agree that Patti LaBelle still has some pipes. She sang a stirring,stunning version of the National Anthem before Game 4 of the World Series Sunday night.
It's one thing to interpret the National Anthem by injecting new beats and notes -- it's a pregame tradition that has rewarded such superstars as Jimi Hendrix, Marvin ####e and Whitney Houston with career highlights. But LaBelle took it to the next level with editorial enhancements to the words written by Francis Scott Key.
"Did she just say 'the skylights' last gleaming'?" I said to Mrs. TV Barn as I reached for the remote. Yes, upon further review, it turns out she did sing that very lyric. And "the perilous flight." And "from the clouds we watched" (WTD?). All lyrics, no doubt, that were meant to be overlooked in the course of her soaring unaccompanied vocals, which were, I will admit, impressive.
And after all, everyone can relate to a gleaming skylight and taking a perilous flight and looking down from the clouds, so you can't say Ms. LaBelle didn't make the lyrics more relevant to our modern sensibilities.
But something tells me she didn't do it on purpose.
I admit, she took great liberties and an awful long time, but I'd gladly take that over hackneyed versions of "God Bless The USA" and "God Bless America" at my ballgames any day.
I mean, can't we simply enjoy our freedoms, start the games and leave the big guy out of it? This land is my land too, you know.
With all the hubbub about former Green Bay Packer QB Brett Favre's allegedly sharing inside information with then-Detroit Lions' GM Matt Millen, you may also have wondered to yourself: If the Lions knew what was coming and still lost by several TD's, then the Detroit football team must be -- to quote the esteemed Homer Simpson, the suckiest team that ever sucked.
1. The latest Brett Favre brouhaha would be a bigger deal from a Detroit perspective if, one, the Lions didn't get their butts kicked by Green Bay and, two, Matt Millen were still the Lions' president.
2. The Lions fell behind by three touchdowns in the first quarter and gave up 447 yards in the game. If Favre helped them prepare, that's just further evidence the Lions stink. And we already knew that.
3. Millen knows Favre from his days as a broadcaster. They have a lot in common as country boys. It would be no surprise if Millen called Favre to invite him over to hunt and then milked him for some football info.
4. Think of the Green Bay perspective, though. Imagine if Steve Yzerman had an ugly divorce with the Red Wings toward the end of his career, went to play for the Islanders and helped a lowly division rival like the Blue Jackets try to beat the Wings.
5. It would do Rod Marinelli no good to comment on the Favre thing if there's any shred of truth to it. If he lies, he's a liar. If he dances around the truth, he's shifty. If he comes clean, he makes everyone looks bad and invites more questions.
Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times checks the pulse of the Wisconsin locals on the subject. (Yeah, I know it's a long way from home, but it's not like he has an actual NFL team in LA to cover.)
On Brett Favre Pass, some folks are wishing he had thrown his last.
"I just wish he had stayed retired," said Ron Enke, manager of Champion's sports bar, located a Hail Mary away from Green Bay's Lambeau Field. "What coming back has done for his image, what it has done for the mood of the town, lots of people wish he had stayed retired."
Eight months after the face of the NFL tearfully announced his retirement, that face is bruised and blushing.
It is the face of an accused liar. It is the face of an alleged cheater. It is a face lost.
The works of a lifetime, tarnished in less than a football season. An American hero, undone by the American way.
That's the thing about freedom. It gives us the right to choose wrong.
The score is now final, and it's not even close.
Brett Favre, New York Jets quarterback, Green Bay Packers traitor, fast-leaking legend, should have quit when he said he was quitting.
The college football season lingers on here in Madison. but the Wisconsin State Journal's Tom Oates suggests that the UW has now become a hoops school.
It may be for this year only, but, as they do at Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina and other basketball-first schools, UW fans have largely pulled the plug on football and are eagerly anticipating the start of the men's basketball season.
So are the Badgers, though it has nothing to do with football.
"We're just ready for basketball to start," junior guard Jason Bohannon said this week, the first full week of practice for the Badgers. "I don't know about everyone else, but we're ready for it to get going."
Why wouldn't they be?
They've won 30 and 31 games the last two years and last season won the Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles. The comparative lack of success in the NCAA tournament is an underlying issue only the Badgers can make go away, but aside from that, the program put together by coach Bo Ryan is rolling merrily along, methodically retooling every year and generally exceeding expectations.
Ryan admits, however, expectations are growing for a program that has averaged 24.7 wins per year during his seven seasons.
Of course, once upon a time, Wisconsin used to be a hockey school, so it's still a big deal when arch-rival Minnesota comes to town.
Their response to the Wisconsin Badgers on Friday, the way that goaltender Shane Connelly sees it, was that it wasn't yet time for them to get their first victory.
Minnesota rallied from a 2-0 deficit with a pair of goals off redirections in front of the net — the kind of plays that can be considered either highly skilled or highly lucky — and earned a 2-2 tie in front of 13,184 fans at the Kohl Center.
"The hockey gods aren't making it easy for us to get our first win," Connelly said. "At least a positive is a tie, but at the same time, we've got to hold onto these leads. It has to change pretty quickly."
Speaking of gods (or God or whatever), the religion writer for the Washington Post has a perfect explanation as to why the Tampa Bay Rays were able to make their miraculous "worst to first" run to the World Series. And as Dave Barry might say, I'm not making this up.
Devil be gone!
For 10 years, they were a losing baseball team with a fiendish nickname: the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Then the club exorcised the "Devil" from its name, and suddenly Tampa Bay is in the World Series.
The Rays won the pennant less than a year after they put the Devil behind them, and some Tampa pastors would like to think that's the reason why.
Rev. Wayne Newman of Bay Life Assembly of God says the Rays' turnaround may be God's way of saying, "If you get the devil out, you're liable to go somewhere." Rev. Tom Atchison of New Life Pentecostal Church of God says that at the very least, the name change has allowed more Christians to root for the team.
Meanwhile, those Tampa Bay Rays fans (or is it, Tampa Ray Bays fans) are up in Philadelphia for the weekend and the hometown paper, the Inquirer is doing its best to be good hosts.
Just to clarify, we did not boo Santa Claus. We merely pelted him with snowballs. And most of the batteries we heaved at J.D. Drew were rechargeable. So lay off us, mainstream media.
Anyway, you have nothing to fear. As long as you follow these few commonsense guidelines, you should leave here with nothing worse than a fractured clavicle:
Make sure your health insurance premiums are paid up.
Pack heat.
Do not wear Rays gear, assuming there is any Rays gear and, if there were, anyone would wear it.
If you arrive early for Sunday's game, do not, under any circumstances, wander into the Eagles' parking lots. (If you're confused, the Eagles' lots are those where the balloons of nitrous oxide are going for $20 and the tailgaters are grilling Dallas fans.) The last out-of-town baseball fan who made that mistake was cornered, beaten, and forced to watch Eagles Post Game Live.
And since the games aren't scheduled to start until after 8 p.m., you'll have plenty of time to sightsee and partake of some of the city's historic culinary treats, and other items of interest.
Here are a few suggestions from a native:This is where the founding fathers approved the Declaration of Independence, drafted the Constitution, and ordered out from Joe's Peking Duck.
Independence Hall.
Morimoto. If you like sushi - and who among us doesn't enjoy raw fish wrapped in gummy rice and smeared with green paste hot enough for Beelzebub? - this tony restaurant is the place for you.
The fall foliage. Take a walk along beautiful Kelly Drive to see the lovely fall colors before they, like Jimmy Rollins' bat, vanish.
Geno's. The cheesesteaks are good, but the rocket scientist who runs the place asks that customers order in English, as if "Yo, gimme one wid" is the Queen's English.
Any Quaker meetinghouse. Take in a service on Sunday and you'll be amazed. Worshippers just sit there and meditate. They don't talk. They don't move. Sounds a lot like B.J. Upton, doesn't it?
You'll find out pretty quickly that, compared with Florida, Philadelphia is an unusual town.
People who live here actually were born here. There are no beaches, no early-bird specials and, thankfully, no Cuban sandwiches. (For Philadelphians unfamiliar with Cuban sandwiches, think stale Oscar Mayer Lunchables.)
So enjoy yourselves. Before you know it, that Mini Cooper will be here to take you back to Tampa-St. Pete.
Yes, this column has been rather Sarah Palin-centric of late. You might even say it's bordered on the Palin-oxious.
The Blues invited Palin to drop a ceremonial puck Friday, and before the game, arena workers laid out a roll of carpet in front of the team's bench. But before Palin came out, the Blues players took the ice and Legace was the first player on.
"I was going to ask (the arena worker) to move (the carpet), but he had his foot there, so I figured he was trying to secure it," Legace said. "He's yelling at us, 'Careful, the carpet ... Careful, the carpet.'
"I'm like I can't jump over it. It's too far and my little legs won't jump that far. I just figured he's holding it and the other end is usually secure, so I'm just worried about it sliding (one) way. As soon as I went down, he lifted his foot off the carpet ... I knew I was coming down and I just couldn't catch myself.
"It's not that serious ... we'll just see what happens tomorrow."
Legace is questionable for tonight's game against Florida at Scottrade Center, and if he can't play, Bishop would likely start and Marek Schwarz would be the backup.
As with Tina Fey, Palin is the gift that just keeps on giving.
Still, I haven't been this viscerally angry about somebody on my TV set since Barry Bonds slinked away from Major League Baseball. And he was simply ruining the National Pasttime. (I know, I just said that but please forgive me.)
This woman could bleep up a one-car funeral. Forget Canada. if she's President, we might need to look for a new planet.
I mean, we just went through eight years with an intellectually discurious person in the White House and we allllll know how well that worked out, eh?
And yet, if you asked Gov. Palin if she was intellectually inclined, she'd likely answer, "you betcha."
"And you have to be up on not only current events, but you have to understand the foundation of the issues that you're working on," Palin said in an interview with People magazine. "You can't just go on what is presented you."
Although Palin didn't name a single newspaper or magazine when CBS News anchor Katie Couric asked where she got her information, the Alaska governor told People that she has always been a "voracious reader" and named reading — anything from biographies to historical works — as her favorite thing along with her children and sports.
Besides author Lawrence Wright's terrorism history, "The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11," Palin said she's reading a lot of briefing papers.
"I appreciate a lot of information. I think that comes from growing up in a family of school teachers," she said.
Palin said if she and husband Todd had had a sixth child, they had already picked a name for a boy joining siblings Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper and Trig.
"I always wanted a son named Zamboni," she said.
Finally, director Ron Howard would also like to talk to you about this election. And so would Andy Griffith and Henry Winkler.
The nexus of today's column centers on the city of Seattle. Jack Zduriencik, the man who rebuilt the Milwaukee Brewers' franchise, will be introduced this morning as the Seattle Mariners' new General Manager. The teeth-gnashing in Milwaukee is only just beginning.
In what may be a bumpy off-season for the Brew Crew, Zduriencik could be the team's biggest loss. The man who drafted the likes of Prince Fielder, JJ Hardy and Rickie Weeks is leaving the team. As the Associated Press reports, Milwaukee Brewers’ general manager Doug Melvin has two big vacancies to fill.
He says he’ll choose a field manager before deciding who will run the team’s scouting operation.
Yesterday, scouting director Jack Zduriencik was named the general manager in Seattle. Melvin says he’s not ready to talk about candidates for the scouting post. The Brewers’ Web site says assisting scouting director Tony Blengino may be considered, along with long-time assistant Tom Flanagan. Flanagan is the director of administration for player development and scouting. Four regional scouting cross-checkers could also be in line to replace Zduriencik. They include Jeff Cornell and Bruce Seid.
Today, Melvin is scheduled to interview his third candidate for the managing vacancy, former Arizona manager Bob Brenly. Melvin says he has already interviewed ex-Mets’ skipper Willie Randolph and former Oakland manager Ken Macha. He expects to make a decision on the managing post sometime next week.
Revamping the Mariners will be a challenge, but it's nothing compared to the mess that was the Brewers, where the financial resources are nowhere close to what Mariners ownership has committed.
The Brewers farm system was ranked 30th by Baseball America in 2000 and 2001 but, by 2004, had risen to No. 1. The Brewers ended a 12-year losing streak in 2005, then, this season, made their first postseason appearance since 1982.
A year ago, Zduriencik was bypassed for the GM job in his native Pittsburgh but became the first nongeneral manager to be voted Executive of the Year by Baseball America.
Now Zduriencik will get his chance in Seattle, where those who have worked with him are convinced he will be a success.
"I'm confident in Jack Zduriencik," then-Brewers manager Ned Yost said when asked about the 2007 first-round selection of Matt LaPorta. "If Jack drafted Pee-wee Herman, I'd be feeling pretty good about it."
Funny that you should mention Yost, as the Seattle Times suggests that the recently deposed Milwaukee manager is Zduriencik's first choice for the next Mariners' skipper.
It was six years ago that the Milwaukee Brewers hired Ned Yost to manage a team that had lost 106 games. The guy in charge of drafting and player development for Milwaukee was none other than Zduriencik, and the fruits of his picks were about to be reaped by Yost at the major-league level.
Within three seasons, the Brewers were playing .500 ball. Yost then had them contending for the playoffs last year and again this season before being fired in mid-September with his team in a dreadful slump. The dismissal, an act of apparent desperation by team owner Mark Attanasio, came against the wishes of GM Doug Melvin and his staff.
And now, on the lookout for his next job, Yost would like nothing more than to team up again with old pal Zduriencik in Seattle.
"Definitely, most definitely," Yost said in an interview on Thursday. "The opportunity to work with Jack again is really, really appealing."
This column has already expressed the belief that Brenly is a no-brainer for the field manager's job. Macha was Melvin's first choice when he hired Yost, but it would take too long for the former Oakland A's skipper to get up to speed.
Willie Randolph may be a sentimental pick as he did finish his playing days in Milwaukee, but -- even though I like the man -- I don't feel he's the right man for the job at this time.
The reason I (along with many Brewer followers) are pushing so hard for Brenly is that he's spent the last four years working for their closest rival, the Chicago Cubs. Yes, he was in the broadcast booth, but if there's anyone around who knows how to beat the Cubbies, it's Brenly. And oh by the way, Brenly has something that neither Macha nor Randolph has -- a World Series ring as manager.
The Chicago Tribune is already sensing what could become of the budding Milwaukee-Chicago rivalry under a Brenly administration.
The idea of Brenly managing in the Central Division against good friends Lou Piniella and Dusty Baker, two men he has studied closely over the last four years in the Cubs' booth, is only part of the package of intrigue. The juicy stuff will come at Miller Park and Wrigley Field whenever Alfonso Soriano steps into the box.
Brenly vs. Soriano was just a footnote in a wild Cubs season, but it was one of the more interesting developments of the early going. In May, after Soriano dropped a fly ball to lose a game in Pittsburgh with two outs in the ninth inning, Brenly argued Soriano wasn't a true "superstar." He went on to add the memorable line that you could "throw a dart" in the dugout and hit someone who's a better fielder than the Cubs' $136 million outfielder.
There are two more sports stories of note in the Great Northwest. The NBA season opens up shop next week and for the first time since 1967, it does so without a team in Seattle. The former Super Sonics were allowed to move and become the Oklahoma City Thunder. Still, as was the case with the NFL's Cleveland Browns, the team agreed to release the SuperSonics' name, logo, and colors to a possible future NBA club in Seattle, but retained rights to its franchise history.
As Art Theil and Gary Washburn of seattlepi.com report in today's edition, a new plan to divert a portion of hotel-tax money from the state convention center to a remodel of KeyArena could help Seattle begin pursuing a replacement NBA team as soon as 2010.NBA Commissioner David Stern said Thursday "positive" talks have gone on between the league and a potential ownership group headed by Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, who led an ill-fated plan to save the Sonics earlier this year.
Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis confirmed the talks, and said he was optimistic that this time around the city's request for state authorization will meet little resistance when the Legislature convenes in January.
"It should be noncontroversial, because it's a city-only tax that already exists and will not be an increase," Ceis said of the latest attempt to find a long-sought public portion of a proposed $300 million renovation for a building currently deemed financially obsolete by the National Basketball Association.
"If we can get our funding package together this session, we can start to work with the Ballmer group on identifying a team for Seattle, but probably not until 2010."
TNT's Marv Albert made more than 30 years of trips to Seattle to call basketball games, and his disappointment was apparent.
"I would think the NBA is looking eventually to put a team back in Seattle," he said. "It's too good a city and the history of the NBA in Seattle is too strong for it not to be viable in the short time. I bet on it, that they will have a franchise."
Arguably a bigger story in town is the predicted demise of UW football coach Ty Willingham. He was came to Seattle after being dumped by Notre Dame and – wouldn’t you know it – the Fighting Irish come to town this weekend. Also from seattlepi.com, "before Willingham arrived in South Bend in 2002, the Irish had four .500 or worse seasons in the previous 20 years.
Willingham's three-year record was 21-16. After his 10-3 debut season, his teams put together records of 5-7 and 6-6 and never won a bowl game.
What was astounding, though, was how Notre Dame lost.
In 2004, the Irish lost to USC by 31 points, to Purdue by 25 points. The year before, they lost to Florida State, USC and Michigan by margins of 37, 31 and 38 points, respectively.
These losses really got people talking.
"All the stuff that people liked about him changed," Hansen said. "His being quiet and stuff? The first year it was, 'He's introspective.' Then it turned into, 'He's guarded.'
"Then they had these thunderous losses, and Tyrone didn't have an explanation."
Whatever went wrong for Willingham in South Bend seems to have manifested itself at Washington. The UW likely will give the coach a pink slip at season's end.
After three-plus seasons, Huskies fans have joined in the chatter, voicing their displeasure as much with the product the coach has put on the field as with his stoic demeanor and puzzling explanations.
With an 11-31 record and just two home wins against BCS opponents, Willingham may feel the world stacking against him yet again."
The other U-Dub, Wisconsin, celebrates -- if that's the right word -- Homecoming tomorrow with an 11am kickoff versus the Cheating (sorry) Fighting Ilini. Somehow, news of the Badgers' dismal losing streak must not have gotten to Las Vegas, as the oddsmakers have Illinois as a mere 2 1/2 point favorite.
Two and a half?! I'd put the over/under for people getting Tazered at 2 1/2.
In the Big Ten football game that matters, the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Doug Lesmerises has the following assessment:
* If Ohio State wins: The Buckeyes would gain the inside track for the Big Ten title with only three games remaining against Northwestern, Illinois and Michigan. Ohio State might climb to No. 6 in the BCS standings on Sunday, but the Buckeyes would need a lot of help, including multiple Texas losses and a USC upset loss, to get back in the national title race. So the Big Ten champ would almost certainly wind up in its expected home, at the Rose Bowl. Even if Ohio State loses once
