Just when you thought it was safe to assume our present officiating woes would get better before they get worse comes a scary new possibility: replacement refs in the NFL. Sure not in our most beloved sport, you may say. The NFL can surely learn from the greed that threatened to cancel last season, right?
 

Not so, not so. After managing to save the NFL season at the zero hour, the NFL faces its latest labor blockage: the referee contract ran out after this season. While talks have not been going well, the refs deny that they have threatened to strike, while the NFL has announced that it will go ahead and train replacement refs.
 

The issue is salary (of course, you say). The new contract provided a smaller wage increase than the 2006 contract and officials figured it was less than other team employees received in their newest contracts. The NFL has also been in talks of terminating the refs’ pension plans. In case you were wondering, first year officials made $78,000 (on average) and ten year vets made about $139,000. Not a bad chunk for being some of the most hated men in America on Sundays.

Still, all this talk of holding back pay increases and terminating pensions sounds like the talk of a foundering company. That’s not the NFL as I see it. The NFL got around $2.3 billion from Pepsi alone. Revenue projections are headed nowhere but up and were around $9.5 billion in September. They no doubt finished hirer if the current ticket prices and ratings bear out. Need I remind you that several NFL games beat out network television programing in ratings for the first time ever this season. We’re not talking playoffs; these were regular season games.
 

The NFL is by no means hurting. Hell, we give them free press constantly. Sure, it’s not always the best. Is there such a thing as bad press? If so, then the NFL stopped caring long ago. Look at the lack of protection for past players, spygate, the Saints, the 2011 draft class, etc. I think these guys can afford to share the wealth with the guys who take the brunt of the shit on Sundays.

In other odds news, PGA golfers are now feeling my pain. According to Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, and several other golfers cell phone usage by fans is becoming increasingly distracting. Fans trying to snap pictures have caused several players to have to try to refocus and reproach shots. According to the Golf Channel, nearly 100 cell phones were confiscated by Friday at the Memorial Tournament.  Fans are allowed to have phones, but they must be put on silent and can only be used in designated areas. Fans are not supposed to use their cameras, but as a teacher I know about how well that probably works.
 

I have to echo a point made by BOB yesterday. This has been a good year of baseball so far. I’ve enjoyed all the games I’ve been able to watch/listen to this year. I can’t understand, however, why the NL Central is receiving no buzz. I have my theories that it could have to do with the departure of Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols, but that seems hard to accept. The Reds have a top five winning percentage in the NL. They’re playing better ball than the Yankees, Red Sox, and Angels, but have received far less air time. Heck, the only reason they’ll be On ESPN this weekend is that they are playing the Tigers.

Still, I have a feeling it doesn’t hurt their feelings much. NL Central teams like the Reds and Cardinals have become adept at waiting until the post season to make noise and have shocked fans by becoming dangerous late in the season the past couple of years. I doubt the Reds would mind giving that a try or that we’ve heard all that we’re going to from the Cards.

Well, that is it for me this weekend. It has seemed like a slow week with schools wrapping up, but I’m kind of excited that I’ll be over seeing my first mini camp next week. Mini camps for high school football are kind of a new thing here in MI. I know Jeff is probably very familiar and maybe shocked to read that we just started. Still, I like what I’ve seen out of the boys so far this off season and hope to see more next week. Thanks as always for stopping by and read what’s been on my mind. I leave you with your vocab for the week.

referee, noun

A referee is a person who monitors a sporting event to make sure that the rules of the game are observed and obeyed by the participants. However, the refs usually just end up becoming the scapegoats for the players' shortcomings and are abused by players and spectators alike.
 

Soccer Player: Dude, that referee was a total retard! Nice call, fucktard!

Person: Shut up. How would you like to try to keep a fair game going only to have half of the field curse at you and vandalize your car after the game?

Soccer Player: But...but...bad call.

Person: Damn, you're a fucking dolt.

You cant leave!!! (Hoodwood should be baby mama) Michelle Beadle is leaving ESPN and your humble scribe is not happy

Greetings from the Hoodwood, where your humble scribe is starting to really hate the chaotic nature of moving. Adding in trips to the ER doesn’t make things better.

Please again accept my humblest apologies for my columns absence last week. As I alluded to in the previous post I am in the process of relocating Hoodwood. The Lady Bandit and I are consolidating our households and the process and is in the most polite terms is maddening, in less polite terms it’s a general clusterfuck. Anyone who has moved recently can attest to this but its worse when you are trying to relocate to another city. It’s a mind numbing process at best and things seem to get lost in the shuffle, and boy there has been a lot going on since we last chatted, so lets get started

NHL: My Kings, My Kings!

No, Im not turning my loyalty over to the Silver And Black, though Ive always had a soft spot for the oft forgotten though oldest California based hockey team, they have brashly pushed their way to a single win short of Hockey’s ultimate prize with a pair of overtime wins in front of a stunned Newark crowd. Then coming home and handing the shell shocked Devils a 4-1 thumping before a now Cup delirious Staples Center crowd in LA. Lakers? Clippers, Dodgers??? Awwww hell naw, LA is a hockey hood now...LMAO Hard to believe of the first wave of expansion the NHL underwent in 1967 they are but a tantalizing win away from leaving the Blues as the only team from that 1967 expansion group not to win the Cup. Ironic since the Blues played in the Stanley Cup Final  in tehir first three years of existance but have yet to go back.  The naysayers have been trying to run the Kings out of contention for the better part of two months. Hey weren’t Roberto Luongo and the President trophy winning Canucks supposed to run them out? Wait weren’t the sharpshooters of the Blues supposed to make Jonathan Quick look slow? Werent the hungry Coyotes supposed to be the darling warm weather team? Like the lop eared mutt that they were in the regular season the Kings seem to be too dumb to figure that they were supposed to be this good and too smart to be afraid of one big name goalie and sharp shooter after another. No dis to the Devils who have a solid and classy team of their own and Martin Brodeur continues to defy time as he closes in on 40 (were the same age) but they are looking more and more like the unwittling final foil to a dream run.  The Kings caught the proverbial lightning in the bottle  and might finally just be able to shut their haughty Orange County neighbors up (The Ducks have held their 2006 Cup Title over the Kings head) and have something that their Northern California rivals have never even gotten close to getting yet with a Cup banner of their own. Im rooting for them. 

NHL: Goodbye to my captain

When Steve Yzerman retired after the 2006 season after 20 seasons as the Wings Captain. Yzerman was the longest tenured captain of a pro team, not just an NHL team. The retired jersey that was raised to rafters of Joe Louis Arena in 2007 had a C patch on it. Like a lot of Red Wing fans I wondered who would be named captain of my beloved Wings. Filling a C sweater is a big responsibility and on the Wings it holds almost sacred honors.  Gordie Howe and Alex Delvecchio are two of the honored names that have worn the C. Its funny, if you go to Detroit and are wearing a jersey with a C patch on it and it doesn’t have Yzerman, Howe, Lidstrom or Delvecchio on it, you will get funny looks and some derisive remarks. An A patch wont but a C patch will, but I digress. When the Wings named Nicklas Lidstrom Captain in 2006, no one in Wings nation batted an eye. In some respects many saw it as a natural progression, the rugged defensemanfrom Sweden had long been a respected leader of the squad second to Yzerman, and was the first European born and trained player to be named captain of an NHL squad, when the Wings won the Cup in 2008 he was the first European born and trained player to be Captain of a Cup winning  squad. The list of honors and standards that Lidstrom achieved are much too long to list here. But as Lidstrom calls it a career at 42, he was regarded still as one of the best playing. Now the Red Wings have to fill the captains sweater again and whoever does wear that C has a really big legacy to follow will it be Johan Franzen, Niklas Kronwall, Pavel Daytsuk or my betting line favorite Henrik Zetterberg . Franzen is the only one of the four Ive listed that doesn’t have an A patch now so his getting promoted to Captain is a bit unlikely. Tomas Holmstrom is the most tenured player but unlikely to get the honor. Let the speculation begin!

NBA: The battle for conference supremacy

Both conference finals looked to be whitewashes after two games, the Thunder looked badly outclassed by the cagey veteran laden Spurs. I had to endure the taunts of one of my co-workers bragging on the play of “Tim-May!” as the Spurs barely broke a sweat while winning their first two game in the Western Finals. Meanwhile in the East the Celtics just looked old and slow (despite the high speed play of Rajon Rondo) compared to the Heat. But what a change of venue can do for some teams. The Thunder responded by thrashing the Spurs in front of a frenzied OKC crowd and the Celtics thumped the Heat in game 3. The critics scoffed and said that both road teams would pull out game 4 wins and head home to finish the too young Thunder and the geriatric Celtics off at home. Both teams are headed home alright but not looking to close their respective series out. The Thunder to my delight and chagrin of supposed know it alls like Colin Cowherd and Skip Bayless pounded the Spurs a second time pulling out a 109-103 win to square the series. Now the media who just four days ago were all but crowning the Spurs one of the greatest teams of all time are backpedaling fast in trying to figure why the Spurs are suddenly looking very mortal. In the East the resilient Celtics seem to find every which way to give leads away but seem to find a way to hang on for clutch wins. Call them shifty, craft or veteran but the Celtics seem to find another Jedi mind trick to play on the Heat and Lebron James seems to get more and more static for not doing more. Though Im puzzled as to what more he could do for the Heat, save orphans while he plays? This series will likely go 7 and though I see the Heat pulling it out, will tax them more than they need to be. Meanwhile in the West, you may scoff and sneer at this pick saying my blind hatred of the Spurs colors my prediction. I think the Spurs version of Jedi mind tricks has run its course and the Thunder pull the series out. I cant call 6 or 7 games because the 5^th game is being played as this column goes to press but the Thunder will pull it out, despite ESPN and the NBA’s best effort to protect the Spurs.

PGA: Look Whos Back

I was in Columbus over the weekend and got to see up close the buzz about the Memorial Golf Tourney in suburban Dublin. Columbus is always ready to turn out for one of its native sons Jack Nicklaus but the tourney got an added bonus with Tiger Woods being in strong contention over the weekend. With flavor of the month Rickie Fowler fading badly, the media coverage got a shot in the arm with the iconoclastic Woods playing like it was 2002 not 2012. Woods found his putting stroke and his breathtaking shots on 15 & 16 even impressed Nicklaus who Woods tied in tour wins with 73. Nicklaus called the shot one of the best hes ever seen. Lets set it up, Woods was in a pitched battle with Rory Sabbatini and was taking his second shot after his tee shot landed him in a nasty bit of rough on the Par 3 16. Woods was a stroke behind Sabbatini and if he wasnt too careful could fall behind further. He had to put a perfect flop shot to keep from skidding past the cup that was on a downward slope.

Had Woods put the ball near the cup on the flop shot he would have gotten mad dap just in saving par and staying within a shot of Sabbatini, but the chip-in for birdie put him in a tie. He would finish par/birdie on the last two holes to roar past a stunned Sabbatini and claim his 2nd tour win of the year and may very well be back as a force on the tour. Now can you expect the domination like of years gone by? Of course not, but a healthy Tiger is a good thing for golf, his good play raises the play of all and whether you like him or no, hes good copy and always fun to watch. I for one, am glad he won last week and hope he plays good at the US Open later this month at the always intriguing Olympic Club in San Francisco.

PHAT DAP/HEAD SLAP

Phat Dap

To Johan Santana, the Mets pitcher who lost an entire season in 2011 to a torn anterior capsule in his pitching shoulder.  Santana pitched the first no hitter in Mets history Friday night, beating the Cards 8-0. This was in spite of a controversial foul ball call off a hit by Carlos Beltran. The Mets went 8020 games before getting their first  which is mind blowing considering the big name pitchers that they have had like Koosman, Seaver, Ryan, Gooden, Cone and Saberhagen. Seaver, Ryan, Gooden and Cone all threw no-hitters after leaving the Mets and Cone even threw a perfect game. Sometimes in games like that you need a favorable call or two to get it. Now the San Diego Padres are the only team in Major League Baseball to have never had a no hitter. Its anyones guess who that would be. On the same night Jonathan Crawford of the University of Florida Gators threw a no-hitter in the opening round of the NCAA baseball tourney against Bethune-Cookman. Crawford needed an efficient 98 pitched to twirl his no-no and faced the minimum 27 batters, walking only one batter who in the third who got gunned down trying to steal second. It was the 7^th no hitter ever thrown in the NCAA tourney history

Head Slap

To NASCAR driver Kurt Busch, whose hothead has gotten him into hotwater. Busch went nuclear on Sporting News NASCAR reporter Bob Pockrass  who asked him a seemingly innocuous question about if Busch being on probation altered the way he handled racing hard against Justin Allgeier. "It refrains me from not beating the shit out of you right now because you ask me stupid questions," Busch told Pockrass, an interview captured on video by Speed. "But because I'm on probation I suppose that's improper to say as well." Busch was suspended till June 13 and will reamin on probation for the rest of the calendar year. Add to boot Busch’s ride through Phoenix Racing is considering whether they will bring him back. Busch did issue an apology, but you have to wonder where this cat's head is at. Busch is already under the close scrutiny of the powers that be in NASCAR for his tempermental actions, doing stuff like that to the press will curry you no favors. It was a stupid move by and idiot driver and he gets what he deserves. 

Thats the view from the increasing widening and mobile Hoodwood. Until next post fellow sports fans!

Heres to one of Hoodwood's favorite players! Eric LeGrand!!! 

Greetings from the hoodwood, where the locals are enjoying the full sports calendars these days.

NBA: Bye Bye Bulls, while the Knicks hang on

The Bulls is dead… I know that is a grammatically incorrect way of putting it. But after going down 3-1 to the Sixers in their first round playoff series that is just what the Bulls are. After losing Derrick Rose to a knee injury and Joakim Noah hampered by a bad ankle sprain, the Bulls are losing players fast and no one seems to be able to pick up the considerable slack. The Sixers who are an otherwise nondescript team have taken full advantage and have not only stolen home court advantage but have won the last three games. The Bulls dominated the first game but are a shell of themselves since the Rose and Noah injuries. The team that is the most happiest about this is the Heat who are now leading the Knicks 3-1 as the Knicks staved off elimination with a rollicking win at MSG. The more I watch games the more I become convinced that LeBron James is scared to take the big shot to win games. Oh he will dominate for the better part of games but did you see that last sequence in Sundays game. With the Heat down 2 and still with a chance to eliminate the Knicks. DWade frantically dribbled and dribbled and dribbled. No one was getting open and Wade had no chance at driving to the cup. LeBron was hiding in the corner so far away from the play he could have been hiding behind Spike Lee. Wade was forced to take an ungainly turnaround three that was way off the mark. The foghorn like buzzer at MSG sounded and the Knicks celebrated a win that broke a losing streak dating back 11 years and 13 playoff games. Will the Knick faithful see their beloved team at MSG again? Not this season, Im expecting the Heat to whomp the Knicks in South Beach come Wednesday. Meanwhile one of my colleagues continues to opine that with his 41 point barrage that staved off elimination Carmelo Anthony has done just enough to keep the boo-birds off his back. He will just shrug with palms after the Knicks take that expected beating tomorrow and in the old children's song will sing “I did what I could” The Knicks will continue to be the most potential laden team in the NBA, and are there rumors that a Zen Master might be interested in coaching them?

MLB: Albert breaks out, welcome to the Big Bryce

After 111 at bats and ESPN looking like they were going to have a collective coronary, it finally happened. Albert Pujols finally went yard, up until he went deep Sunday. I had more homers than he did. It seems like the erstwhile best hitter of the last decade or so was starting to hear the boo birds as he chopped one weak ground out after another. But finally he went deep, but after doing so added some more pressure to himself saying that it wasn’t about starting strong it was about finishing strong. At this pace, Pujols will have 6 homers and 45 RBI’s at seasons end and the Angel faithful will be ready to run him out of Anaheim. Pujols supposedly is still trying to get adjusted to life under the Hollywood microscope and life away from his family in St. Louis. (Question: why didn’t he bring them out west with him?) I think Angel fans will be satisfied to see  Albert match his totals from last year .299 37 dingers and 99 RBI which were career lows in average and RBI. I don’t know what to make of why hes not playing good, but ill tell you this much if he has a bad year you can bet that the steroids talk will ramp right back up. That’s not a good thing at all.

Meanwhile Bryce Harper of the Nats is making quite the splash in his first weeks in the bigs. Hitting the ball good and making a stunning steal of home Sunday night was the first by a teenager since 1964…I like the question posed by Buster Olney…what were you doing at 19? I was trying to keep from flunking out of UC and obsessing over a girl who couldn’t decide if she wanted to be with me…but that’s another rant…Harper is playing like a never scared rookie and drawing the ire of Cole Hamels who drilled Harper with a pitch as a “welcome” to the big leagues. I never was big on Hamels and thought the media’s overhyping of him in 2008 was just too much.  I think he reflecting what a lot of pitchers are thinking, “Uh oh…and he’s only 19???

NFL: Another tragic loss…Junior Seau (1969-2012)

I was at work on Thursday when I heard and I refused to believe it. Junior Seau who was for so long the linchpin of San Diego Chargers defense in the 90s committed suicide. Seau who was the vibrant high speed player that was respected and feared hitter, took his own life with a gunshot to the chest. To see his former teammates speak so highly of him and the ebullient Marcellus Wiley repeatedly choking back tears when reflecting on his teammate and friend. I wondered what kind of pain and struggle was he going through to feel that suicide was the only option. There is a real question on the lasting effect of concussions and how it affects pro players. Football is a violent sport and the NFL is its highest caliber. You start to wonder how much of a toll the hits take and how many players were affected before a serious look was even taken. Think of all the players that were playing with lots less protection and the hits that they took. You think the NFL doesn’t consider that? I used to own an old VHS tape called “Crunch Course” which had all sorts of bone jarring hits. How many of those players were feeling the effects of those hits? Dave Duerson was a big time hitter for the Bears in their 80s heyday and he took his own life. It was found that he had a form of brain damage. His teammate Jim McMahon who took some frightening shots as the Bears flamboyant QB suffers from some serious memory loss and worries that he might be headed down the same road as Duerson.  I hope and pray that this isn’t something that we are seeing more and more of

Fowler: The New Phenom?

Well, it seems that golf has found its weekly phenom. The colorful (literally, have you seen this cats outfits?) Rickie Fowler won his first PGA tout event, outdueling fellow phenom Rory McIlroy and D.A. Points to win the Wells Fargo Championship on the first playoff hole. Now you will see the pundits and honks opine on how Fowler and McIlroy will be the new big rivalry in golf especially with Tiger Woods missing the cut and to them becoming so much an afterthought. Fowler is ummm quite the colorful player with his bright outfits and swagger. He makes quite the contrast to the modest McIlroy and I could see him as a foil for Masters champ Bubba Watson. But the media has been way way too quick to try to jump on possible rivalries. Rivalries don’t really get developed until the combatants go head a few times, I mean look at Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer their rivalry has developed over years but you really didn’t take note until they were playing for major titles. Ill reserve judgement on Fowler and any other name player for a while, especially while Tiger is still on tour.

PHAT DAP/HEAD SLAP

Phat Dap

Greg Schiano is the new coach of the Tampa Bay Bucs and coming from Rutgers he wasn’t really obliged to give one of his former players a contract to the 90 man roster of the Bucs. But this one was special. Eric LeGrand was a defensive tackle who suffered a traumatic injury after colliding with a kick returner from Army that injured two of his vertebrae and damaged his spinal cord. LeGrand was told that he would like never regain use of any his limbs. Through intense rehab has been breathing on his own since five weeks after the injury and hopes to walk again. He told Sports Illustrated that he hopes to go to the spot that he was injured, lie down get back up and walk away.  Schiano presented LeGrand with a custom jersey and though the gesture is symbolic it was a nice gesture to a person who is battling back after a devastating injury. Phat Dap to Schiano and LeGrand.

Head Slap

To Savannah McMillian-Christmas a deranged fan who wandered onto the court during Sunday Nights Lakers-Nuggets game.

She was allegedly shouting “Where’s Kenyon?” In reference to Kenyon Martin, the problem beyond her obvious breaking of law by trespassing on the court is that Kenyon Martin doesn’t play for the Nuggets anymore. He hasn’t in over a year. He plays for Los Angeles…but not the team that the Nuggets were playing. He plays for the Clippers. McMillan-Christmas had some stalker issues with the former Cincinnati Bearcat legend. McMillan-Christmas was arrested and taken from the Pepsi Center where she was later released to the custody of her mother. My question is how did a 20 year old get dope ass seats that close to the court?

That all from the Hoodwood this week, until next post fellow sports fans!

Bubba!!! Yoooooou did it!!! 2011 Masters Champ Charl Schwartzel gives Bubba Watson some new digs

Greetings from the Hoodwood, where some folks still haven’t done their taxes…

Leading Off: Heres to a guy named Bubba

I usually aint a golf watcher, especially if Tiger aint in contention. But when Sunday evening I was headed home when I got the text saying that Bubba Watson and Louis Oosthuizen were headed to a playoff in the final round of the Masters, I hustled to the crib to see the drama unfold. Now keep in mind I had no beef with the classy articulate South African who was bidding to have his good friend and 2011 Masters winner Charl Schwartzel put the coveted green jacket on him. But Im sorry, I was rooting hard for Bubba. I had long said my favorite golfers were named Boo (Weakley) Bubba and Tiger. The first too seemingly humble old boys who’s quirky games and laid back styles make them easy to root for. Tiger? Ive rooted for him for a long time. Anyway, Oosthuizen and Watson went for the sudden death playoff and Oosthuizen nearly stole the green on the first hole when his birdie try slipped just past the cup. There was a shot of Schwartzel who was watching the coverage from  Butler cabin where the formal presentation to the winner would be at grimaced visibly when Oosthuizen’s shot to win on the first hole slid by the hole. Watson and Oosthuizen both parred the hole and moved to the 10^th hole where Watson hit the most awful shot so way right he was in the trees. It looked like he was cooked and all Oosthuizen has to do was stay out of any kind of trouble and his countryman would be putting the jacket on him. Problem was Bubba was to crafty to give it up and too dumb to think he couldn’t do it. Not to say that the Georgia grad is dumb, but he had the dumb boldness to intentionally hook the ball out of the trees. He had the go-get em mentality of if I have a swing, I have a shot. His lie was at least on a bed of pine needles and he had a shot to get out of some trouble, but heres the really fucked up part he took the shot and put such a vicious hook on it he not only got out of the woods he put the sumbitch on the green about 12 feet from the pin on the par 4. Not only did Watson get himself outta deep trouble, and put himself in a real position to win, he put the onus back on Oosthuizen to top his shot and get close enough to the pin for a birdie or at least a par to force the playoff to continue. With his third shot just on the fringe, Louis had to make a big money putt that was no gimme, he was close but not close enough. Bubba two-putted for the win and was visibly weeping as he hugged his caddy and then his mother. Watson got dap and hugs from damn near everyone at the 10^th green and even Oosthuizen was giving dap.  Most remember Watson from his near miss win at the PGA Championship and how he wanted so badly to win for his father who dying of cancer. He lost in a playoff but gained all sorts of respect for his down to earth style and humble manner. I first heard of Bubba Watson from his line of golf shirts that were at the now defunct Steve & Barry’s clothing store. I bought as many as I could get my hands on back in the day and still have them.  Im proud to say that I knew who Bubba was before the general sporting public got introduced to this very real very humble and darn likeable guy. You also know how likeable a guy is from the dap he got on Twitter after his win. I know I was among the seemingly endless amount of followers that were giving him love Sunday. Even Tiger Woods who at 5 over was light year behind the contenders was giving dap to Bubba for his win.  The phattest of daps to the newest Masters champion

Hey Ozzie…shut your mouth!

Anyone who knows me, knows that I detest the overly loquacious Ozzie Guillen. As manager of theWhite Sox who are a chief rival to my beloved Minnesota Twins. Guillen was jabbering all the time and never met a camera he didn’t like. It grinds me to no end that Guillen won a World Series with the White Sox in 2005 and was lauded as a great manager. I was tickled when Guillen wore out his welcome on the South Side and more or less got traded to the Marlins at the end of last year. Of course the very Hispanic Guillen going to South Beach was considered a public relations coup for the Marlins who despite having won 2 World Series in the past 15 years have long been on the back burner of the Miami sports scene behind the Heat, Dolphins, and the U. Moving into a flashy new ballpark on the site of the Old Orange Bowl the Marlins looked to make a real splash in South Florida, despite a slow start South Floridans were looking forward to the always entertaining Guillen keeping the Marlins on the front pages. Guillen did so this week but in a way that the Marlins did not want. Guillen was interviewed by Time Magazine and said that he “loves Fidel Castro” Castro is the longtime leader in Cuba which is 90 miles south of Miami. The US and Cuba have a very chilly if not outright hostile relationship for the the better part of 50 years. Guillen went on to more or less lionize Castro for his longevity as the leader of the Communist nation. Guillen backed off those statements over the past couple of days saying that he felt “guilty” and “embarrassed” Shooting off his mouth is nothing new for Guillen who is a notorious supporter of countyman Hugo Chavez , the Venezulan strongman and has undergone sensitivity training after making gay slurs to a Chicago reporter. Guillen is someone who likes to hear himself talk and often will say something before thinking of the ramifications. His comments fly in the face of the heavily Cuban Miami populace, many of whom have relatives either still in Cuba or had escaped Castro’s suffocating regime. For Guillen to make Castro to be some sort of long lived hero who has survived because of skill and not brutal repression is stupid, naïve and downright ignorant. The new Marlins park is a neighborhood known as Little Havana which shockingly has a heavy Cuban populace. It is highly likely that Guillen will get some kind of suspension. Others like  Cuban-American advocacy group in Miami, Vigilia Mambisa, according to ESPN.com has said it would boycott and demonstrate against Guillen until the Marlins fire him. Some like Dan Le Batard, the often outspoken writer for the Miami Herald and Cuban himself has called for Guillen’s ouster. I seriously doubt that the Marlins will do such a thing but don’t be surprised if a suspension of Guillen is forthcoming.

The soap opera that is the Magic

My late grandmother was devoted to her soap operas. She called them her stories and her day was built around watching All My Children, As The World Turns and Guiding Light none of which are on anymore. I myself only watched soaps when I was on some kind of break and could only stomach All My Children but I often wonder how my grandma would have liked the ongoing soap opera playing in Central Florida between the talented but often petulant Dwight Howard and his idiotic coach Stan Van Gundy. Now please understand, I like Howard to a point but I never thought that much of his talents. One of the last players to make the jump directly from high school Howard has been a starter for the Magic, the team that drafted him in 2004 as the first overall pick. Howard was the subject of heavy trade rumors as he is nearing the end of the contract that would make him a highly desired free agent. Van Gundy is the histrionic driven coach of the Magic who I think would double as porn star Ron Jeremy’s lookalike. Van Gundy’s paranoid attitude has a tendency to wear on folks. I have long maintained that teams win in spite of Van Gundy not because of him, first with the Heat then with the Magic the teams he coaches are always playoff contenders in fact with the exception of the 2005-06 season in which he resigned, some say under pressure or fired, all of Van Gundy’s teams have made the playoffs and have advance at least one round in all but last year. Stan like his younger brother and fellow stupid coach Jeff, play the paranoia card to the hilt. Everyone is always out to get them, Stan has had running feuds with a number of players and Shaquille O’Neal openly remarked on TNT last week that Van Gundy was difficult to get along with. Howard has his own diva tendencies and first openly campaigned for a trade then tried to work behind the scenes to get Van Gundy fired. This was something Van Gundy remarked about late last week during a shootaround before a game with the Knicks. Howard unknowingly walked right into the bus the Van Gundy was driving and then proceeded to look confused and bewildered as the media then peppered him with questions about him trying to get his coach fired. This was something that Howard vehemently denied until it was told to him that the info came straight from his coach. It didn’t help matters that Howard played like a whiny brat, scoring 8 points in a loss to the Knicks and had the “I don’t give a shit look on his face most of the night.” I think the Otis Smith is heavily weighing how bad it would be to get rid of both these palookas and start over.

Perspective: Campanis and the necessities

In April 1987, the ABC news program Nightline was preparing to do a piece about the then 40^th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the so-called color line in baseball. Ted Koppel was going to get some remarks from Al Campanis, then general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Campanis was a teammate and friend to Robinson. In his interview, Koppel asked Campanis why there weren’t more blacks in managerial positions. At the time, there were no managers of color in the majors and Lou Pinella of the Yankees, Pat Corrales of the Indians and Tony LaRussa of the A’s were the only Hispanic managers.  Campanis replied that he felt that “Blacks lacked the necessities to become managers.” Had Campanis said that he felt that the thinking was or that others feel that… there would have been no controversy but he didn’t. Koppel gave him the chance to dig himself out of his statements, but Campanis pushed on saying that blacks are poor swimmers because they lack buoyancy. Campanis was fired two days later from a post that he had held since 1966. The backlash was immediate and swift, especially since it was later learned that Campanis had been one that had helped decide on Tommy Lasorda as manager over Jim “Junior” Gilliam when Walter Alston retired in the mid 70s. Campanis was later quoted as being wiped out and felt that he had been ambushed by Koppel but Campanis only spoke what he felt and what many in MLB had quietly believed. Going forward MLB did hire other blacks as managers Frank Robinson would take over the Baltimore Orioles (who were in the midst of a 0-21 start) in 1988 and the relatively unknown Cito Gaston would take over the Toronto Blue Jays the next season a post that he would hold for nine years then again for three years in the late 2000s. Gaston won World Series with the Blue Jays in 1992 and 1993. Though often slow and sleepy MLB has had its share of managers of color including Don Baylor, Felipe Alou,  Dusty Baker and Ron Washington with the latter being active managers in the bigs. Kenny Williams is the only GM of color in MLB as of right now. This begs the question, are there enough managers of color? With the number of players of color dropping off noticeably in the last few years one has to wonder if Washington and Baker a dying breed. It seems that there are more Hispanic managers being touted for managerial jobs and with the heavy influence of Latinos in the game it seems that the trend will continue to curve that way. MLB has gotten away from the Campanis thinking or so it would seem but the question still remains.

Phat Dap/Head Slap

Phat Dap

To Blake Griffin who threw a nasty dunk down on the head of Pau Gasol early in the Lakers-Clippers game late last week.

Not Content with traumatizing the soft spoken Spaniard once, Griffin threw another HAVE SOME!!! dunk on Gasol.

Did you see uber punk-ass Andrew Bynum clowning after the second dunk??? Griffin has laid his nuts on his neck a couple times and Im sure it will happen again so he has no room to clown.

There is no truth to the rumor that Gasol was seen at a psychologist in the Hoodwood after being evisicerated by Griffin twice but Im pretty sure that he was asked frequently if he needed a hug.

Head Slap

To Ryan Leaf who is in trouble with the law…again. Not four days after being arrested for arrested on burglary, theft, and drug charges in his hometown of  Great Falls Montana he was on the bad side of the law again this time for burglary, theft, and two counts of criminal possession of dangerous drugs. And to think that there was a debate on who was the better QB coming out of college in 1998. As much heartache as Manning gave them at the end, you know the Colts are glad they chose him over this clown.  

That’s it from the Hoodwood, next week in honor of Jackie Robinson’s 65^th anniversary of breaking the so-called color line, I will look at the impact that Robinson has had.  Until Next Post Fellow Sports Fans!

Are you ready for some football?  I know that the fans are, but I do not think that any of the NFL teams are ready.  The NFL staggered the start of training camps depending on when the first pre-season game is going to be played.  My favorite team, the Arizona Cardinals, was supposed to start last Wednesday, in actuality they are starting this morning, a full four days after their camp was supposed to have begun.  Have they signed any of their rookies?  No and this perplexes me, because I was under the assumption that the rookies had a salary cap depending on where they were drafted.  No negotiations, "Just sign here on the dotted line green pea".  The Cardinals situation is no different than any other team, it is a giant cluster f*ck throughout the NFL right now.   Do not think for a moment that NFL football as we know it is anywhere back to normal.

The Cardinals pulled off one of the major trades of the NFL so far; they traded Pro Bowl cornerback Dominique Rogers-Cromartie and a second round draft pick next season for quarterback Kevin Kolb.  The trade was necessary for the Arizona team, their quarterbacks (four of them) stunk last season following the retirement of future Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner.  The only problem is that Kolb is not allowed to practice with the team until August 4.  What is up with that?  This rule seems pretty ignorant to me. 

The major league baseball trading deadline is fast approaching, and so far I think that San Francisco and Philadelphia have just made great trades for their trades with Carlos Beltran going to the Giants and Hunter Pence going to the Phillies.  My team, the Diamondbacks, does not need any hitting as they lead the National League in home runs.  They could use a back of the rotation starting pitcher and a shut down reliever.  The trading deadline is Monday; we will see what else transpires with the contenders.

Meanwhile Tiger Woods is about to make his return to competitive golf and I, for one, hope that he can return to his former dominating self again.  Professional golf needs Tiger to start winning tournaments again, if only for the fans.  I would love to see him win his 19^th major at the PGA Championship this year.  Tiger is playing at Firestone Golf Course in my birthplace of Akron, Ohio this weekend, a place where he has won seven times.  We should be able to see if he has his game back together by watching him this weekend.  I know that many of you think that golf is a boring sport to watch.  I am not among you.

As for professional basketball and their strike, I leave you with the comment that I would love to see Kobe Bryant end his career by playing a few years in Turkey.  Like Kelly Pickler (who I do have a crush on),  I do not think that Kobe is the smartest tool in the shed.

I leave you with this tune which sums up my feelings on both Kobe and the NBA strike.  Thanks for your patronage and have a great week.