FEBRUARY 16, 2002 RECENT SPORTS JASON RALEIGH, a life-long New England sports fan, knows heartbreak and that hope always springs eternal (just before the season starts). Occasionally, he ventures to the movies and even reads a book or two. And since misery ultimately loves company, he's willing to share his thoughts on it all. Raleigh is a contributing writer for Renaissance Online Magazine.
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No More Figure Skating...Please by Jason Raleigh Let me tell you what this column will be about. It's my opinion and as the disclaimer will read, only my opinion. Not the opinion of the editors or any other member of the management or staff. Any problems, e-mail the editor. I'll get the e-mail and try not to verbally abuse you in the next article. Notice the word try there. On that note, let's start! What do you think legendary coaches such as Vince Lombardi, Hank Stram or Tom Landry would have done if instant replay overturned a crucial play as it did in the Oakland-New England game? Mothers, cover your children's ears! By the way, I am a New England fan and I thought it was a fumble. But we're keeping the Lombardi throphy.
Why did the networks put Olympic Figure Skating Qualifying on "prime-time" television? Isn't that what ESPN2 is for? Or, more recently, Court TV? My favorite whipping posts, the Yankees, made a lot of good moves this winter. And even if they win 95-100 games, they won't realize until October how much they will miss Paul O'Neill, Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius. At least they still have Luis Sojo. Tony Dungy lost his job in Tampa because "he couldn't win at the next level." Doesn't that still make him better than 90% of the other coaches in the league? And now Tampa is looking into hiring Norv Turner. At what level has he ever won? This begs the question: Did Tampa kick its own ass when they began discussions to bring in "Mercenary" Parcells? That's called dropping the ball. Big time! Speaking of Dungy, he just made Indianapolis a playoff team again.
As a fan of New England sports, I already can foresee the Patriots quarterback situation for next year. They will trade Drew Bledsoe and keep Tom Brady. On the first play of training camp, Brady will tear up his knee. Then we get to see just how good Damon Huard is. Until he tears up his knee. If a professional soccer league in the US folds in the woods and no one is there to hear it, did it ever really exist? Did you know there is a town named Climax, Saskatchewan? Must be the happiest place on earth! Can you name an NHL hockey player from Climax, Saskatchewan? (Answer near bottom) Tom Hanks and Russell Crowe could star in a movie about monkeys flinging shit and still get "Oscar Buzz." In my last job search I had a friendly Human Resources person give me his office phone number, work cell phone number, home cell phone number, fax number, work e-mail address and home e-mail address. It still took two days for me to get in touch with him. Ahh, communication in the 21st century! Memo to Ray Lewis: Whatever you paid for that coat, it was too much. Mike Tyson will soon take over for the "Boogie Man" when it comes to scaring little children in their dreams. Look out, Suzie. Mike Tyson is gonna get you! With exception to Michael Jordan's return, does anyone care that the NBA is even playing a season? And what is the point with all the NBA players going with "cornrow" hairstyles. Is it that popular to look like 87% of the population of Riker's Island?
Jennifer Connelly (right) is now on my list of top ten MILF (Moms I'd Like to, um...share a meaningful conversation with). Midseason NHL picks for this season: Philadelphia and Boston fight it out in the East; Colorado and Detroit in the West. Detroit beats Philly in the Finals. Anyone who says we aren't being humanitarian to the al-Qaeda and Taliban soldiers in Cuba should be forced to work at "Ground Zero" for one month and then get asked the question again. If you ever want to have some on-line fun, go to www.thespark.com and take one of their "tests." The site is one of the funnier on the Web. Duke has such a good team they could beat some NBA teams.
Fan Interaction Poll of the Month: Put together a starting team of all-time college basketball players from one school (e.g. Georgetown could put Dikembe Mutombo, Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, Allen Iverson and Reggie Williams on the floor at one time). Send the submissions to our Soapbox Forum. I'd like to see the responses and we'll discuss it in next month's article! Answer to trivia question: Gord Kluzak, defenseman for Boston, 1982-1991 Kurt Warner's wife looks similar to my grandmother. The unfortunate part being that my grandmother turns 99 next month! Shaq deserved more than just a 3 game suspension for attempting to sucker punch Brad Miller, but the NBA is so weary of alienating one of it's "stars" they took the coward's way out. And finally, a memo to Mike Tyson: If you read (or could read) the above "BoogieMan" comment, I have already moved to a place where you will never find me. * * * * | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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