Dom's Dish - Thursday, February 8, 2007
I have finally kept up my end of the bargain. After saying it and not really following through, I intently watched the Duke - North Carolina game last night. With the exception of a few minutes at the beginning of the game to bring out the recycling (btw- I hope and recommend you all recycle, though not for property tax purposes in NJ, purely environmental) and a trip to good ol' Mickey D's, I watched the game. (Side note, what is up with a box for your sandwich? Such a waste. And besides, have you ever forgotten you got food to go and sat on a Big Mac on your car seat? Like that box would help it? What's the point? From an economic standpoint, it's got to be more expensive to produce the box than using the traditional wax paper. As for environmental, since you're not supposed to recycle boxes "contaminated by food" (as per Burlington County, NJ regulations -pizza boxes, etc), these boxes end up in a landfill. I wonder if anyone has ever petitioned McD's to go no-box?)
So, watching the game, I knew at some point in the second half that Duke would fold like a box. What were they, 3-10 shooting free throws? Them, the Cavaliers and any other team that struggles at the line are due to fold. (What's worse, missing free throws or calling out "free money"? If you can get fined $10g's for that, they should start fining for missed free throws in key situations in the pros.) Watching the fans in the stands, they're crazy, really. I don't know how any group of players could lose on that court, talk about fanatical. Some observations: If the tourney is all about guard play, Duke is definitely in trouble. On many occasions, some of their best guards couldn't hold their dribble when pressure and almost got caught with a turnover. North Carolina was faster and wanted the ball. "ESPN the magazine" had an article on the freshmen, Wayne Ellington (UNC) and Gerald Henderson, Jr. (Duke), who play on opposite ends of this rivalry, so yet another reason to watch. They're from out near the Villanova area and my initial reaction is that Duke got the better of that one. Gerald's father played in the NBA, the kid has some serious "ups", and will likely improve from his 6.3 PPG. Keep an eye peeled.
Speak of college hoops, I was watching "the Holy War" game - Villanova and St. Joes on Tuesday night, and had some thoughts on the name of key college matchups. Holy war? Another in college football is Oregon vs. Oregon State is called "Civil War." Wow. Mentioning these names to scholars might bring about some strong feelings either way. I just wonder if the Harlem Globetrotters matchup against their foes the Washington Generals should be called "World War 1" and the New York Nationals matchup "World War 2?"
So, Wade Phillips is going to be the head coach in Dallas. Obviously T.O. will be the biggest hurdle. (re-iterating a point, I don't think Jason Garrett warrants the OC position in Dallas, due to his performance in Miami this past year, and people mention the "buzz" he got this offseason - the Cleveland Browns wanted to hire him! That's a "buzz"?) Odds are already out for next year's Super Bowl winner. The best odds as you may have heard are the Chargers (6 to 1). Problem is, as predicted right here, the San Diego Chargers have now lost their Offensive and Defensive Coordinator in the same offseason, pulling both out from under Head Coach Marty Schottenheimer, who by the way, has a 5-13 postseason record. I can't remember hearing about a team losing both coordinators in one offseason.
So, you may have heard of the Peyton Manning name change guy. I'll tell you now, it isn't going to happen. He filed paperwork yesterday and now will have to appear before a judge to make this official. Now after seeing him on "Cold Pizza," he is gonna fold. "A man of his word," he didn't have an argument ready to tell the judge why s/he should allow it. If a judge allows this guy to change his name in order to fulfill a sports bet, this country is in trouble. Then again, maybe this has happened before and no one has ever heard of it. Don't worry dish fans, I will never "call myself" a QB's name. Me llamo Tony Romo.
I am now a Phillies Season Ticket Holder. This officially concludes my being a "New York" or "North Jersey guy." I bought the Sunday package, 14 games to enjoy the Phils. Talking to the ticket agent on the phone, "the Right Field Side is more the family side, while the Left Field Side is mostly younger people" - she went on to say things like "people drink over there" "they're rowdier" "we sometimes get complaints from that side" and "if anyone complains tell them to go to the Right Field side" - I am not kidding. I went with the Left field side, since you know my wife and I, we're such rock-stars.
Don't worry, I won't mention anything about the female NASA diaper-wearing love triangle murder attempt-er. Sh*$ too late!
Around the balls:
Basket- the Celtics are horrible. I've never seen so many "posterizing moments" against one team in one season. For those that saw the highlights from D-Wade last night know what I mean.
Base- A-Rod "dodged" some questions about a potential buy-out at the end of the 2007 season, and now it's news. I think we all know what is going to happen, he's gone either way, but hopefully Clemens will hop on board and they'll win the World Series this year, this way A-Rod can pass on "Peyton's monkey" that he was passed. New title for A-Rod's next children's book: "Little Alex finds Peyton's monkey" an instant classic and NY Times best-seller.
Rubber-non- Mark Messier is not backing down from his statement that he would like to one day be the GM of the NY Rangers. In fact, he is saying that he could do it right now. Brazen.
Foot- An old item hear, but worth mentioning and reminding you fantasy football GMs out there. Domanick Davis has changed his last name to Williams (mother's maiden name). I heard a reporter mention Domanick Williams and was confused for a second, don't want you educated "dishees" to miss out.
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For those new to "the dish", I once dreamed of being a sports-caster having my own column. Let me know if you don't like it, and/or want to be discontinued from the list. If you have another email address to send it to, send that to me also. For older issues of the dish, email me. domsdish@gmail.com or go to http://domsdish.blogspot.com/
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