I’m not sure if I want to announce how I settle on pictures to put up for these posts…maybe I’ll wait and see if anyone figures it out.
I’ve been searching for some extra time to write a post berating the Ohio Income Tax laws for helping to screw Cleveland sports franchises out of free agents…well, economists, tonight is not your night. It’s 1am here in LA, so I’ve decided to write the kind of bullet point article that columnists get paid far too much to write when they’re lazy. On Sundays.
All that aside, here’s a rundown of some current events that are on my mind.
Roger Federer
Federer is a monster. Nadal is the bull. Surprisingly, I really like tennis. And there’s no one in hell that Sunday’s Wimbledon Final that featured Federer versus Andy Roddick comes within spitting distance of last year’s classic match between Federer and Nadal. Aside from the 4th set, the entire match took place on serve. It was like watching a video game on demo mode. You knew exactly what was going to happen every game. That’s not to say that Sunday’s match shouldn’t be appreciated - but it can’t be enjoyed as much as the ultra-competitive ‘08 Final.
Trevor Ariza
Was it shady for Coldstone and Danny Ferry to fly out to L.A. to meet with Trevor Ariza after he verbally committed to sign with the Rockets? The answer is no - because they wouldn’t have flown out to see him unless he said it was okay. Which meant there was an opening. And when you’re a competitor that’s what you do - you take advantage of opportunities and you compete. The Cavs should be applauded, as should Bron for at least stretching the truth with Ariza to try and convince him to come to Cleveland.
Look, I’m not saying Bron isn’t going to re-sign with the Cavs. I’m not saying he doesn’t want to. But we can all agree that the smartest thing for him to do is not commit at this stage of the game because every team, every franchise is always one step away from the cliff. If something terrible were to happen this year, that could change everything. As a businessman he should leave his options open…
But that also means he has to accept the fact that Ariza’s people can say things like, until he signs the contract it doesn’t really mean anything - take some responsibility for it and deal with the consequences.
Finally, for the record, I think it was the right thing to do for Coldstone not to promise Ariza a starting job over Delonte. Ariza rates higher statistically, I know, but the Cavs had extraordinary success last year with Delonte - good leadership and organizational fortitude dictate that you don’t hang the people you went to battle with, and won with, out to dry.
Eric Wedge
E-Wedge gets to keep his job through the season. Congratulations. Manager in baseball has to be one of the most over-valued jobs in all of America. As I’ve said before, Shapiro and his staff are the problem…just look at last week’s trade of 25 year old John Meloan - who was acquired and heralded about a year ago in the Casey Blake deal - for 32 year old Winton Abreau. I don’t need to look at any numbers to analyze this trade…it’s a GM making a desperate trade to get an older play who might be able to help keep the Indians from losing 100 games this season? Meloan wasn’t having a great year in Triple A, but I don’t understand the desire to unload prospects, especially practically right after you got them in the first place.
Boston
Boston fans (Draves, I see you), how do you feel about Danny Ainge essentially saying, “A year from now we won’t even be able to field a team because everyone will be in a nursing home.” The addition of Sheed is fine - we’ll see what kind of a difference he makes; he’s more impactful than Mikkey Moore - but at what point does a franchise have a responsibility to its fanbase to at least pretend like they’re interested in building a program that can be successful long-term?
I guess we’ll know how Ainge feels about this question if he decides to sign Grant Hill next.
Standing Ovations
This is also sort of for Boston fans because it was inspired by my seeing Nomar Garciaparra lauded for an extended period of time as if he was some kind of omnipotent being when he walked up to the plate in Fenway Park tonight. How crazy is it that a person can receive so much public adoration in truly massive quantities just for his ability to put a wooden bat on a hard white ball?
Interesting social commentary and psychological commentary, as getting that sort of reception has to have an incredible psychological impact on a human being. Which brings me to…
Steve McNair
Lots of things can be said about famous people, and famous athletes, and the culture they exist in, the decisions it yields, but I take umbrage with people saying, “Steve made a mistake. No one is perfect.”
Now, I know we don’t know all the details, but…
I made a mistake when I tried DVR’ing the Cavs-Heat game in ‘08 and the recording came up blank. I made a mistake when I forgot to buy bread at the grocery store. McNair didn’t make a mistake when he decided to buy an Escalade for his female “companion” without telling his wife something was going on.
I think there’s a longer commentary to be written about what people remember us for - lots of talk this week with MJ and McNair about remembering them for their work and not for their personal lives…but is that really the way life should shake out? We’re supposed to value work more than family?
I’ll save the extended version for my diary. Too much typing today. See you guys later.
