Dom's Dish - LEAP ahead edition

Dom's Dish - Friday, February 29, 2008


"Well, well, well, DominNIC, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN???"

So after a five...no, NINE month hiatus of officially writing the dish, not just giving it to those of you I've seen at parties...there is a lot to recap. I have been right and I have been wrong....there have been ups and definitely downs. Mitchell released his report, Obama is taking the US by storm, I witnessed the Phillies clinch the NL East, the Pats went 18-0 only to lose to the Giants, the Big 3 in Boston, Tiger added a major, and I have been to a total of 17 states*, watching it all. So without much further ado about where I've been and what I've been up to, it's time to delve right in...


I was right:

Michael Vick. Need I say more?

I mentioned that they may put Parcells on MNF on ESPN to replace Theismann (Jan 22, 2007) - I was close, at least they did the right thing and get rid of broken leg Joe. Ron Jaworski had a good first season, and he did give me plenty of material for when I play at RON JAWORKSI'S Valleybrook Country Club in Blackwood, NJ! Jaws here!


I was wrong:

Wes Welker - and I quote from March 6, 2007: "I rescind my offer that Jeff Garcia will end up the Gil Meche of the NFL free agency period. That title now goes to Wes Welker." Wrong on both accounts but I did go on to say "He does fit the Patiot-jack-of-all-trades mold".

Billy Donovan - remember that? My last dish on June 1 was right after he signed with Orlando of the NBA for all that money. I praised him and thought he might be a good NBA coach...only to have him rescind and go back to the University of Florida.


Ok, and now on to the topics...

NFL Free Agency is here! Big news? Asante Samuel in Philadelphia? More on that in a bit. Well, Derek Anderson rejected the Browns one year offer and hit the open market after midnight. Good news for those Brady Quinn fans out there, or is it? Late report is that Anderson has agreed to a multi-year deal with the Browns now. It hasn't been too crazy yet these last 16 hours - no big names off the board yet (Randy Moss, Lance Briggs, Bernard Berrian, Alen Faneca, Michael Turner, Asante Samuel). However the 49ers have made a number of moves for some mid-grade players- LB Dontarrio Thomas, QB J.T. O'Sullivan, KR Allen Rossum and RB DeShaun Foster. A lot of lobbying for position as of now - trying to convince these free agents to come on out to sign those enormous contracts - in terms of green, not paper. Speaking of green, apparently one of those teams who was able to convince a visit - Asante Samuel is in Philadelphia and word is a 6 year $60 million contract by days' end is possible. It would be a great sign for the Eagles, but word is Lito Shepphard would become expendable. It's just about 6 months to the beginning of the season, can you feel the excitement yet?

The Super Bowl Champs lost a player (Kawika Mitchell to the Bills) and word is that teams are inquiring about Jeremy Shockey. Aside from that, a lot of rumors abound, I sit amazed the number of items on the Bottom Line of ESPN News. It should be an interesting weekend into next week.


Big news for all you Europeans out there...Soccer will be coming to Philly in 2010! The MLS - that stands for Major League Soccer NOT Multiple Listing Service (AKA MLS number for all you homebuyers out there) - has agreed to give Philadelphia a franchise that will start up in two years. No word on team name during the press conference yesterday, but work is set to begin on a new stadium just south of the Commodore Barry Bridge in Chester, PA. The stadium will be right along the waterfront bringing some economic opportunity to an area that could use it. Now, I'm no soccer fan, but with the MLS's new contract and a team in Philly, I could be.


So, the NBA trade deadline has come and gone with a lot more moves than normal. For those even following along even with ESPN highlights you know how ridiculous the difference in conferences is - East vs. West. In the West, there are 9 teams seperated by 6 1/2 games - so all of these games down the stretch will count big time. With the trades, we all know about Shaq to the Suns, Paul Gasol to the Lakers and Jason Kidd to Dallas. The West all got better, but again it is going to be a blood bath in the playoffs as they are all evenly matched. Somehow the Lakers have won 10 straight out there and as they work in Paul Gasol, they are every NBA Analysts' favorite for the NBA Western Conference and NBA Title. Not bad for going back a few months when Kobe wanted out of L.A. But don't leave out the Eastern Conference - the Big 3, and not just Boston - Detroit and Cleveland could be in there as well. Detroit is far and away the definition of team basketball, Boston has a great defense led by Kevin Garnett, and Cleveland...they have LeBron. Nice trade at the wire for the Cavs to get some nice role players around King James. Many think Kobe is the best player in the league right now, but we'll see as the stretch run comes. That would be an awesome NBA Finals - Kobe vs LeBron? We could only hope, except Kobe would have the disadvantage as there is only one of him and four LeBron's.


Steroids in Baseball - like you, I'm sick of hearing about it. As certain as I am that Barry was involved with BALCO and "the clear", I am now certain that Roger Clemens tried it once or twice. Now granted, this Brian McNamee is one shady character keeping "stuff" for years and years, I mean how do we know that he hasn't doctored the evidence in his basement (by the way Nic Santillo, I have a very sugary cereal bowl with your DNA all over it from when you were 7 years old). I don't want to spend too much time or energy on this (I'm winded from writing this much already) but it's sad to see such a controversy like this, especially with the prosperity of the game now. I hope Roger and Barry don't come back this year -


As a follow-up to my last dish, I spoke about plumbing and bathroom design. It's still something I notice while washing hands - finally last week I had an "almost" - outside Denver in the staff lounge at the hospital where I worked - very nice, deep place to wash your hands without touching the side of the sink...except the faucet only had one speed - full on, and water goes everywhere. Oh, so close!


Happy Leap Year Day everyone! I would be remiss if I didn't give a shout out to my beautiful wife Beth on our special day today... "last year" I proposed to her, and it's been bliss ever since.


"They must be Oakland fans....did you hear the latest injury report? POSERS!"



Around the balls:

Giant-orange- Kelvin Sampson, the former Indiana Hoosier head coach is a cheater. No big surprise there, my buddy Matt in Illinois told me this all last year - this after he recruited a player who had already verbally committed to Illinois. Anyway, College Basketball is heating up - only about 2 weeks before the NCAA brackets are on everyone's mind. Memphis got the loss out of the way in a great game, can they be the favorite heading into the tournament? Will Villanova make it? If not, can they win the NIT?

White-leather-stitched- In case you're living on the moon, you realize it's staying light out later and know that Daylight Savings is coming up on March 9...so you know that Spring Training has started in Florida and Arizona.

Rubber-non- The Devils are up top in the Eastern Conference, Sid the Kid is still out with an ankle, and Alexander Ovechkin is scoring goals at will. The season is about to wrap up - I guess more people would care if it were actually on some sort of TV Network other than "Versus" and NBC on Sunday afternoons occasionally.

Big-brown-oblong- Aside from the Free Agency period, the Combine and the upcoming draft, keep an eye and ear on the situation with the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

Tiny-white- Tiger is three for three this year - Dubai, Torrey Pines and Accenture Match play. Good thing that the US Open is in California at Torrey Pines - looks like another major. For those that missed his interview about a perfect season you need to see the ESPN.com video about him peaking.

Green-fuzzy- Somehow Roger Federer lost in the semi's of the Australian Open - he must have been hurt or something. Maria Sharapova won the Australian Open - she was just in a zone that last match. Funny news - A 9-year-old girl from Melbourne, Australia has been banned from playing tennis at her local club over the grunting noise she makes while competing. Her favorite player is Maria Sharapova. Hopefully more people will do this - it's so annoying watching the Williams sisters and others.

Big-black-and-white- Reports say that Jose Mourinho turned down an offer to coach Lyon after leaving Chelsea. I don't know what that means, but it's my duty to report it.

Giant-black-holey- Sundays are for bowling. Nothing new here, just pins and balls.

Rubber-wheels- Ryan Newman won the Daytona 500. Dale Jr. has a new team and a behind the scenes show on ESPN. Yeah, cars going in circles - fun to watch when nothing else is on.


Program Alert:
Jackie Moon and Semi-Pro debuts in theaters today! I'll spend $10 to laugh for 90 minutes at Will Ferrell's fro!

Links:
Tiger Video: http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3254792


* - states outside NJ since June 07 - California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Ohio, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ontario (Canada), Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia


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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/

Dom's Dish - Anna Jaws Saban aerial basketball suit edition

Dom's Dish - Monday, March 26, 2007

The best football news this offseason just came over ESPN's wires this morning: Ron Jaworski will join Tony Kornheiser and Mike Tirico on ESPN's Monday Night Football. Not that I hate Joe Theismann...he's just so damn annoying! Tony Kornheiser has joked about it on "Pardon the Interruption" - PTI - that there exists some angst between he and Theismann, and I always though he was kidding, but there wasn't much chemistry in that box. Mike Tirico is awesome - he was a guest host with Tony on PTI last week, and he's actually pretty funny. Now, if they can stipulate in Jaws' contract to not be such a "homer" when they broadcast the Eagles this year, then that will be some pretty good coverage on ESPN all year. "We appreciate the work Joe has done for 19 years and continue to talk with him about another high-profile football role with ESPN," said an executive with ESPN. Riiiiiggghhht. I hope not, we want to see less of him, not more.

Now, seriously, what is up with that? It's not just CBS that wastes their money on it - ESPN/ABC, and others do it. Aerial coverage for an indoor sporting event?!?!? Especially places like East Rutherford, Sacramento, anywhere for that matter. "Here is the building where everyone is - you'll notice these vast parking lots around it," like why? I think we've all seen an arena before, and cars from about 1,000 feet up. Daytona Speedway, Giants Stadium, Citizen's Bank Park, heck even Augusta National works - BECAUSE THERE ARE PEOPLE OUTSIDE! It's cool when they show a place like Dallas or Miami at night with the lights on for a basketball game - but can't they just take a picture from a tall building or a local news helicopter one time, and save that. We don't know - and frankly, I wonder how many others care if the shadows fall to the left or right of the picture. Stop wasting money - give whoever the sponsor is (Goodyear, Southwest Airlines) a few extra shout outs on air - no need to waste gas. Another reason American's are hated 'round the world.

Speaking of the NCAA tournament: "Memphis, Georgetown, Ohio State, UCLA will go far." I should have picked one from each bracket, but I really don't like Florida. I think I would like them if that Troy Polamalu look-alike Joakim Noah weren't there. I don't really know what it is, other than the hair. I had these same sentiments against Adam Morrison (porn 'stache might be the main factor there), Troy Polamalu, Michael Bolton...but not Cole Hamels or Jared Weaver. Guess it's the long nappy hair - I wonder why Santillo's? Anyway, hopefully we don't have to see him (Noah) dancing again or doing the stupid gator chomp, instead he can look more like the shot of Morrison crying on the court after a loss. Against UCLA on Saturday about 10:30pm. I'm hoping for a Georgetown-UCLA matchup on Monday, though the only team I can't stand of these four is Florida. All those years rooting for Florida State in college football will make one learn to dislike the Gators. Two #1 seeds and two #2's - somewhat boring and predictable, not sure if 2007 counts as "March Madness."

ESPN needs to go out on a limb, I say for like a week at least. When I'm watching the 5 or 6pm news, chances are, I might be just getting home from work, in a business suit or at least a nice button down shirt. Watching Larry Mendte, Vince DeMentri, Bill Evans or Katie Couric are times it's neat that they're dressed up for TV. When I watch Sportscenter, I'm in jeans, sweats, gym shorts or pajamas. For one week, I say, let the hosts of Sportscenter and other shows dress like they're in the comfort of their homes. Make-up is fine, just no suits. I wanna see Stuart Scott wearing matching pajamas with a classy Hef-style robe. Tony and Wilbon on PTI wearing matching sweatsuits, and Linda Cohn in jeans and a flannel. If they get complaints in the week, switch it back to suits, but I say try it out.

Nick Saban is already on the same level with ESPN. Confused? An Alabama fan named their first son "Saban." Kind of weird going after the last name. You'll remember there have been somewhere in the area of 20 known cases of people naming their children "Espn" over the past few years from Colorado to Denmark, I believe. I guess we're not too far off from my son Donovan "Tiger" Santillo.

Breaking Entertainment News: Anna Nicole Smith died from an "accidental overdose" according to the Medical Examiner. "Anna Nicole Smith was taking a long list of medications from methadone for pain and Valium. There was no foul play indicated." Those are the facts in a nutshell, but be prepared to watch it on the evening news for 5 minutes at a whack. How long before this plays out on an episode of "Law & Order"?


Around the balls:
Big-brown-oblong- NFL Owners' meeting is this week in Phoenix. Aside from punishments for off-the-field issues, revenue sharing and a stadium for the Giants and Jets will be discussed. News out of New Orleans today is that the Saints will remain there until at least 2010. I wonder if Goodell will try to live up to Tagliabue's expectation of getting a team to LA by 2009. Results of the revenue sharing discussion will play a part.
Giant-orange- Barton College over Winona State in the Division II Championship game looks like one of the best endings to a basketball game in the last 20 years - college or pro. Anthony Atkinson hit the lay-up with 0.1 seconds left. They'll probably show it on ESPN highlights tonight if you haven't seen it. Along with the Reggie Miller's 8 pts in 8 or so seconds in the playoff game against the Knicks like 10 years ago, or the Christian Laetner shot in the Final Four, this is up there. And by the way, Winona State had won 57-straight games - wow.
White-leather-stitched- Carl Pavano looks to be the Yankees opening day starter. It would be awesome to see him actually earn some of the money from the contract he signed in 2005. Rubber-non- It's almost over people - most teams have 6 or 7 games left in the regular season. Now if only the Devils can stop giving up 6 and 7 goals and maybe do something in the playoffs this year.
Tiny-white- Tiger. Need I say more.
Only-when-they-wreck- "The car of tomorrow" debuted in Bristol, TN this past weekend. I know you all were watching.

Program Alert:
Is this the week I turn off "24"? "Lost", "24" and "Grey's Anatomy" - three shows on the decline.
6 days to the regular season!


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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