Dom's Dish - Thursday, February 15, 2007(I apologize to my die hard fans out there as I was travelling early this week, so this will be a double-edition-sized Dish. On that topic of air travel, aside from delays due to weather which are beyond my control, a short story about a pet peeve and my being hypocritical. Flying is fun to me, except when getting on or off the plane. People bring too many bags, and are always in a rush. The worst is rushing to and from your seat. The plane pulls up to the gate, passengers unbuckle, jump up, open the overhead bin and stand in the aisle. Meanwhile, the door hasn't opened yet, the plane is full and you're in row 20. SIT AND WAIT! I've timed it, unless you're in first class, you're going to be waiting for an average of 5 minutes, bag in hand in the aisle. Same thing goes for the mad rush onto the plane. You're assigned a seat! Calm down, the plane won't leave without you when you're there and on line. And most of the time you get to the jetway and there's a line onto the plane! So this past trip I had my iPod, had an aisle seat in row 8 and had my iPod on when the two people in front of me shared a few words. I turned it off and thought the woman said to the man "...aren't you Larry King?" to which he replied "yes." It wasn't Larry King, because I tried getting a look at his face, and I thought for sure Larry King couldn't be in Boston headed for Philly when he does a nightly show on CNN. I followed down the jetway and waited in a short line behind this gentleman. His seat was in like Row 5, and I kind of bumped into him as I moved past and might have pushed him into the seat arm. I got off the plane, got home and thought about it some more. It wasn't Larry King, it was Stephen King. Morale of the story, follow your own advice and don't wait your turn getting on and off a plane.)
One thing that gets me about all of this about John Amaechi coming out is that every news source says "...the former NBA Center is going to openly admit that he is gay in an exclusive ESPN interview." Isn't that kind of "outing" him? What's the point in us listening to an interview with him admitting it? Regardless, I think it's a great thing for the world of sports, and as Amaechi has said, he wanted to give "the full story" in writing the book, maybe providing an inspiration to others out there.
However, for those that missed it, former NBA player Tim Hardaway appeared on the Dan LeBatard radio show yesterday. WWhen Dan referenced the John Amaechi situation, by asking him what he would do if he had a gay teammate, Hardaway responded: "I hate gay people," "I wouldn't want him on my team," "They shouldn't be in locker room when we're in the locker room." Dan countered with "you know what you're saying is flatly homophobic...it's bigotry" : "I hate gay people, I'm not going to hide that," "I am homophobic," "They shouldn't be in the world or the United States." Wow! It doesn't surprise me or many others share that sentiment. He later apologized "I regret it, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said I hate gay people, that was my mistake." Yeah, that makes up for it! Hardaway, a former NBA point guard that I HAD a lot of respect for (he played many years in Golden State with Chris Mullin) was also a former ESPN NBA analyst. Maybe now we know why he's not there anymore. Now even though it is the year 2007, we are strides away from where we were 25, 10, even 5 years ago, however we should all know better than to think that these feelings of homophobia (and racism) don't still exist.
Breaking News on this subject, David Stern, NBA Commissioner has said Tim Hardaway will be removed from any future appearances representing the NBA. This is due to "the disparity between his views and ours [NBA]." Hardaway was scheduled to be in Vegas for NBA All star weekend and make some money. No more.
Since it's Black History Month, I thought I would mention a story that I don't recall hearing, or at least much of. Tommie Smith and John Carlos in 1968, represented the US on the Olympic Track & Field team in Mexico City at the summer games. After a one-three finish, they wore black leather gloves on the medal stand and raised their fists during the national anthem. "The Black Power Salute" it was called and was front page news across the globe. In a book that hits stores today, "Silent Gesture", Dr. Smith explains his purpose (not that he hated white people). With all the talk of Tony Dungy and black coaches in the NFL, we are unfortunately many years away from openly gay athletes being accepted in sports. It's something no one talks about, I mean there has to be at least one athlete out there from a major team who is gay, right?
Now for some funny news, Colorado Head Football coach Dan Hawkins (formerly Boise State coach), received an anonymous letter from a parent complaining about the players getting less time off this year than last year (2 weeks vs. 3 weeks). On an interview on "Mike & Mike in the morning" on ESPN Radio this morning, Hawkins said he was just trying to fire up his media guys and make them laugh. He made me laugh - in case you missed it, he brought up the letter very matter-of-fact-ly and calm, then all of the sudden went off yelling more Howard Dean style than Dennis Green style. As a result, for those that missed it, ESPN showed their Top 10 Coach rants. I'll only tell you the Top 5, here goes:
5. "It's Division 1 football! It's the Big 12!...Go play intramurals, brother!" - Dan Hawkins (the aforementioned rant)
4. "Hello! You play to win the game!" - Herm Edwards
3. "The Bears are who we thought they were! If you wanna crown their a$$e$, then crown their a$$e$!" - Dennis Green
2. "Practice?!? We talkin practice - not a game, not a game..." - Allen Iverson
and the number 1:"We sucked! ...Playoffs?!?! Playoffs?!?! You wanna talk playoffs!?!" - Jim Mora, Sr.
Ah, the memories...
For those that actually read this article/rant/weblog/blog whatever you want to call it, you'll remember a few weeks back, my feelings on the San Diego coaching situation. I criticized Marty's asking for a review of the interception/fumble toward the end of the game. I also suggested dropping Marty in favor of then Offensive Coordinator Cam Cameron (due to playoff record). Now in San Diego, absolute chaos. Offensive Coordinator, Defensive Coordinator, Linebacker Coach, Tight End coach and now Head Coach all gone. Here's an idea, FIRE THE GM! How does he let the four assistants leave, then force the owner to fire Marty instead of him? I am utterly confused. As mentioned last week, the Chargers opened as 7-1 odds to win the Super Bowl. Now, I put them at 20-1. KC and Denver will only get better and will be playoff contenders, the Oakland Raiders can only get better (can't they?), all of this spells doom for the Chargers. Ok, maybe not doom, but I will definitely bet against another 14-2 finish. AJ Smith is to San Diego as Matt Millen is to Detroit.
I've been to Indianapolis four times now. There are a few nice bars downtown, it's a nice "little big city." Stephen Jackson, last year in the strip club shooting a gun off, now three other players last week picked a fight with a restaurant manager? What's the deal? Guess they need to stop by the Columbia Club and play with the elevator to relax and have some fun.
I don't know how anyone could hate or dislike Peyton Manning. Aside from the personality in those commercials - "Cut that meat" "Maybe like Peyton Manning, maybe" "It's ok Wendy, that was a good carry" - anytime I get to see him in an interview, the same personality comes out. You may have seen that he discussed a voice mail he got from Bill Belichick wishing him luck for the Super Bowl, and heard that in the past Peyton called Belichick but instead talked to his daughter. In an interview last week on NFL Total Access, his personality came out insisting that this Super win hasn't "changed him" unlike what one player pointed out to him. He went on to talk about his Tango performance. Just a classy, funny guy. Maybe some day Eli will get it.
Mike Tyson checked into rehab for "various addictions," this after felony drug possession charges. I think I've seen this plot on "House, M.D." According to what he told police, Tyson said he uses cocaine "any time he can get his hands on it." I hear ya brother, kinda like me, except a medium-rare filet with a blue cheese crust, but you don't see me checking myself into rehab!
We are all disappointed with this past Super Bowl's commercials. We are all looking just for commercials that make us smile when we hear a few seconds of it. Some that inspire that feeling, Geico, ESPN SportsCenter, ESPN News "talking out of your..."
Around the balls:Giant-orange- Chris Webber, talk about a re-energization. Almost too much of a coincidence. I mean, the Sixers don't have a great cast, not as good as the Pistons, but it's very suspicious that all of the sudden he's all healed from multiple injuries.
White-stitched- Jon Lieber, who may be moved to the bullpen if the expected Phillies rotation stays healthy, showed up to Spring Training sporting some new wheels: a Ford F-650. The thing has a 200-gallon Diesel fuel tank, gets 12 mpg and costs only over $50 G's, but still, that's ridiculous.
Rubber-non- Brodeur got his 10th shutout of the season last week. When asked about Brodeur's accomplishments, even his teammates are left speechless. "Jamie Langenbrunner and Jay Pandolfo could only shake their heads when asked about Brodeur's accomplishment," as reported by the AP. Me too.
Brown-oblong- Tiki Barber, now a NBC analyst, said "it was an act of God" that he was not injured during practice under Tom Coughlin. How is he still the football coach in NY? Again, better for the Eagles!
Rubber-wheels- Apparently the substance found on the intake manifold of Michael Waltrip's car was jet fuel. "Whatchya carrying?" "Rocket Fuel" - oh Armed and Dangerous, such a good movie! Anyway, NASCAR's Daytona 500 this Sunday, I'll watch a few laps, but don't expect me to be wearing my Miller High Life hat or be drinking a 30-pack of Miller High Life Light - "it was right next to the Miller Lite."
Program alert -For those with NFL network and Eagles fans, Jeff Garcia and Donte Stallworth will be on NFL Access tonight at 7pm (both whom I think will be gone from Philly).
P.S. Everytime I see the Sheldon Brown hit on Reggie Bush I cringe and get fired up at the same time. And everytime I see Howard Eskin, I think of "The King" from the Burger King commercials.
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