Posted: February 11th, 2010 | Filed under: Media | 25 Comments »
Well, it has been ridiculously hectic — been gone for a couple of days. But there’s some stuff coming including some or all of the following topics:
– My Cleveland Browns bowling ball.
– The February baseball predictions? You betcha.
– A (mostly) positive post on the Kansas City Royals.
– Hug-E-Grams.
– Golf without Tiger Woods.
– Do You Believe In Miracles? Yes!
– The horror of 10 Nominated Academy Award films.
– The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
– The funniest people in the history of sports
– And, bonus, the longest post in the history of this blog.
Posted: January 15th, 2010 | Filed under: Media | 44 Comments »
You may or may not have interest in this, but here is the rough version of the speech I gave Thursday to the Sports Turf Management people here in Orlando. They were very nice, very encouraging, and coming down here gives us a chance to take our girls to Disney World. More on that later.
One quick Disney World story. We took the girls to Disney World three or four years ago. And back then, the Disney Princesses were about the most popular thing in the park. So we’re sitting there waiting for Belle (from Beauty and the Beast).
Me (to Margo): “I wonder if the Princesses are as hot as they were four years ago.”
Stranger: “I think they are still very pretty.”
Me: “Um, that’s not what I meant. I meant hot like, um, popular.”
Stranger: “Oh. Sure you did.”
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Posted: January 13th, 2010 | Filed under: Media | 124 Comments »
… and I think this criticism from Fack Youk is fair. This says that I have a double standard — for not taking A-Rod’s apology at face value and, at the same time, for taking McGwire’s apology at face value.
I’m not going to spend a lot of time disagreeing because I really think it’s a fair point. I could not tell you that there isn’t some contradiction here. But I also think that there were drastic differences between A-Rod and McGwire, so I’ll give you 500 words or so on the topic.
1. A-Rod was caught — he was not “sort of caught” like McGwire. He tested positive. And he played in an era when there were tests. McGwire may have spoken to get back in the game as a coach (which isn’t the same to me as trying to do damage control after a report comes out on you), but McGwire played in an era without testing and with, I believe, rampant steroid use that nobody in baseball seemed to care about much at the time.
2. A-Rod’s admission was obviously limited. People say McGwire’s admission was limited too because he refuses to connect his use to performance. But that’s not what I mean — his REASONING may be limited, but he admitted he used steroids and HGH throughout his career and especially when he was at his best. A-Rod admits using it for a short period of time in Texas long before.
3. A-Rod lied directly about this just a short while before on 60 Minutes. Say what you will about McGwire’s testimony before Congress, he did not lie.
4. Here is the big difference: A-Rod used a fair section of his apology to rip Selena Roberts, the reporter who pulled back the curtain and exposed him. That was my biggest beef with his apology and the main reason why I felt the way I felt about what he said. As I wrote then:
Even all (the inconsistencies and unbelievable aspects of A-Rod’s apology) would have been OK with me. Hey, it’s like Sinatra said: “I’m for anything that gets you through the night.” If this ludicrous story tested well with the target audience, well, that’s fine by me. But then, he went after Selena Roberts, who broke the story. And that’s where the dam broke for me. … Selena broke this story, and it was impeccably reported, thoroughly sourced, and it was quite obviously true. That story — and ONLY that story — was why Alex Rodriguez was giving this heartfelt mea culpa to the nation, why he was able to, as he said, finally come out and be ”completely honest.“
And then he attacked her. He said ”This lady“ was paid to stalk him. He said she was thrown out of his apartment. Rodriguez said she tried to break in his house ”where my girls are up there sleeping.“ She denied every word, said it was all made up. I guess you can decide who you want to believe. But then he said that she was coming out with ”all these allegations“ and ”all these lies,“ even though he was sitting right there emotionally and reluctantly confirming those allegations and admitting those lies. And, remember, he felt good to do it.
McGwire, best I can tell, has ripped no one but himself. He has tried to maintain his dignity, and he refuses to concede that steroids made him the ballplayer he became. But he admitted he did it, admitted it was wrong, said that it was the worst thing he ever did, and did not blame anyone but himself. I think it’s a whole different thing.
That said, I can certainly see the point. I don’t think I like McGwire better than A-Rod … I do think his apology was different. But, hey, we all have different reactions to things.
Posted: January 13th, 2010 | Filed under: Baseball, Media, Other Sports | 42 Comments »
Well, it has been an odd 48 hours or so. To tell you the truth, it’s just an odd time in general. In the last few days I’ve been in Dallas, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Kansas City … and tomorrow I take the family down to Florida where I am the keynote speaker at the Sports Turf Management Association Annual Conference.* I am very excited about this, though I should note that I was looking at the Sports Turf Management Website and did not actually see my name on the schedule. It’s not like I need to see my name on the STMA Web site for ego reasons … I’m more concerned that I will go down there and they will be like, “Uh, and you are?”
*Like you didn’t already know that.
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Posted: January 7th, 2010 | Filed under: Baseball, Media, Pop Culture | 70 Comments »
I have downloaded this cool iPhone app — anyway, I think it’s pretty cool — called MailMe Text. It is a simple premise: You press the button, type in a message, and then hit send and it send the message to your email. You may say: Big deal, you could just mail it to yourself. Well … yeah, you could, you’re right. But this saves you a few seconds every time, and because of the way it does it you can easily organize where the emails go in your inbox. I think it’s pretty cool anyway.
So, I’ve been sending myself a few messages: Here are some of the things I’ve been sending myself:
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Posted: January 7th, 2010 | Filed under: Media | 22 Comments »
So you’re saying to yourself: “Where in the heck is that big blog post that Joe promised us?”
Well … yeah. It’s coming. You know, I’m in California getting ready for the BCS Championship. Kind of busy. Anyway with this and this and this and this badass piece not to mention the live blog I’m doing tonight from the championship game, I’m REALLY not sure that anyone needs to hear more from me this week.
Still, yeah, there’s stuff coming. I’ll post it all once I get to the Rose Bowl.
But in the meantime, yes, I’m still pimping Vac’s appearance tonight at Varsity Letters. That links to a great Q&A, by the way, with Vac about his terrific book “The First Fall Classic.” And I’m serious, if you go tonight — and if you are in the New York area you HAVE to go — walk up to Vac afterward and ask him for the secret sentence. And then, if you email that to me I’ll send you something like a prize.
If Vac says, “I have no idea what you’re talking about” well … that might be the secret sentence. I’m counting on him to come up with some great sentences. He’s good at that sort of thing.
Posted: January 6th, 2010 | Filed under: Media | 44 Comments »
Well, I’m here in California getting ready for the BCS Championship. And I’m here in California writing about the Hall of Fame. And I’m here in California appreciating that I’m not in the Kansas City snow. And I’m here in California feeling bad for my family that IS in the Kansas City snow. And I’m here in California re-reading the Jared Allen story that will run in Sports Illustrated this week — without question a story that uses the word “badass” WAY more often than I’ve ever used it before. And so on.
I have a whole bunch of snippets and notes about a million things — including a point-by-point look at the Hall of Fame ballot — that I will be posting at some point tonight.Possible topics: Verizon commercials, Soda Stream, bookstores, the Tool Band-it, fast food Chinese and Bose sound systems.
I also wanted to take a moment to promote my brother in arms Mike Vaccaro’s appearance tomorrow in New York at the Varsity Letters event. More on this in the later post, but right now I can only say: Mike’s book The First Fall Classic is that … classic. If you are in New York and a baseball fan, you must go. No, really, you must. In fact, I’m going to give Vac a secret sentence … and if you get that sentence when you go, and then send it to me via email I might just send you a prize of some kind. More later.
Posted: January 3rd, 2010 | Filed under: Media | 244 Comments »
Got several blog posts coming up — lots of stuff from here in beautiful Phoenix — but first hoping for a little help. I’m considering sports innovations for a project and wondering what you brilliant readers might come up with.
Here’s the thing: I’m looking for true innovations — good and bad — that have changed the landscape of sports. True innovations. That is, I’m not looking for simple improvements. I’m looking for inventions — things that were essentially new. Like the West Coast offense to me is not quite an innovation. The FORWARD PASS, now that’s an innovation.
Some innovations I’m considering at the moment (and I’m not sure all these qualify either … these are just some I’m thinking about):
1. The invention of the curveball.
2. Switch hitting.
3. The jump shot.
4. The forward pass.
5. The Fosbury Flop.
6. The dunk.
7. The serve and volley.
8. The swimming racing turn.
9. Touchdown dances.
10. The invention of the sneaker.
And so on. Just pop your ideas in the comments — no innovation too crazy to consider. Thanks for your help.
Posted: December 23rd, 2009 | Filed under: Baseball, Media | 80 Comments »
Top of first inning: Slim Jones pitching. Cool Papa Bell grounds out to short. Pop Lloyd flies out to left. Buck Leonard hits a deep fly ball to right field. No runs, no hits, no errors. Pozmen 0, Skyliners 0.
Bottom of first inning: Hilton Smith pitching. Bullet Joe Rogan strikes out. Willie Wells singles. Oscar Charleston singles, Wells to second. Josh Gibson strikes out. Jud Wilson singles, scoring Wells. Cristobal Toriente flies to center. One run, three hits, no errors. Skyliners 1, Pozmen 0.
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Posted: December 18th, 2009 | Filed under: Media | 27 Comments »
I have not done very many book signings for The Machine because the schedule has not really allowed it.
But I’ll be at the Zona Rosa Barnes & Noble in Kansas City Saturday at 2 p.m. for a signing — awesome timing for some holiday gift buying. I’m not sure how it will work yet, but I’m sure we’ll be able to talk a little sports, make at least a couple of Yuniesky Betancourt cracks, and send you home with the perfect gift for every single member of your family, including your Uncle Rufus who is not exactly a “reader” but will love the pictures in the middle.*
*I had to pay for those photos. It was quite the process. I’ll have to tell you all about that some other time.
Anyway, if you are anywhere within the sound of this blog … PLEASE come out. Would love to see you and, more to the point, would love to not sit blankly for an hour watching holiday shoppers walk by.
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