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THE RISE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO THE ATKINS DIET
Life is good. The Husker ship has righted
itself, my snow blower started on the 2nd pull and baseball is just around
the corner. The only pea under my mattress is an Omaha collection agency
trying to get 15 bucks out of me for a “Mont Blanc” pen, supposedly given to
another lawyer for services rendered. Christ! It had better be the one Ben
Franklin used on the Constitution. I go through pens like sunglasses and
lawn mowers. I’ll bet if you put a gun to his head today he couldn’t find
it.
I truly believe this just might be the year of the
Tribe. As mentioned earlier, my snow blower has started on the second pull
ALL three times I’ve needed it this winter. I thought I was the only person
who leased his snow blower. It cost me 600 bucks to take that little gem off
the showroom floor and 60 bucks a year to keep it running. To say that this
little miracle has lightened my burden is an understatement. I can now cross
off one of my gripes in my ever expanding Rolodex that I plan on taking with
me on judgment day. Obviously, I’ve got some explaining to do, but so does
He.
It certainly has been an interesting off-season for the
Husker football team. I totally agree with the direction that it’s heading
in; we needed a change. We were headed into the land of mediocrity with no
return in sight. Although I thought Frank would probably be given another
year. With the new staff he assembled it’s not unreasonable to think that he
may have been able to turn things around. But, let’s face it. Frank lost
control, of “Little Frank” that is. What’s up with that? If those stories
are right, it would make Shawn Kemp blush.
The Offense was getting so outdated that it became
almost impossible to entice the cream of the crop recruits to even give us a
second thought let alone visit. As much as I enjoyed the Crouch years, it
spelled doom for the program. We completely got away from using the I-backs
and the offense was based solely on the Quarterback. Every time we got
behind by 7 or more points, I got this sick feeling in my stomach because I
knew there was no chance to make a comeback. How can we lead the nation in
rushing year after year and not be able to get a capable I-back over 5'4"
tall?
Callahan has definitely hit the ground running. Blake
might be his best hire; it looks like damn near all the recruits that we
have visiting these past 2 weekends were set up by him. I’m still old
school. I love the running game and I hope we don’t abandon it entirely. But
to quote a person on one of the internet bulletin boards “The best thing
about the West Coast Offense is Jamal Lord will be watching it from the East
Coast.”
I like all of Callahan’s hires except one, Cosgrove.
Does his drinking buddy have to be the second in command? He doesn’t have
the resume to coach here. He was nothing but mediocre at Wisconsin and
there’s nothing in his past to lead me to believe he will be anything
special here. It would have been nice to keep Pelini; the guy has a lot of
fire. But I’m sure Callahan didn’t like the idea of coaching with one eye on
the field and the other trying to watch his back. The first time he loses
I’m sure he would hear the “We want Bo” chants.
PETE ROSE
Ted, I’m starting to come over to your way of
thinking concerning Pete Rose and his possible Hall of Fame induction.
Isn’t it ironic that after 14 years of people saying,
“Pete, if you just admit that you gambled on baseball all would be forgiven”
that it has almost had the opposite effect on people? I agree with Peter
Gammons; I too have always felt that Rose belonged in the Hall. How can you
keep the all-time hits leader out? But after seeing his interview and the
self-serving timing of his book announcement, I’m on the fence. It doesn’t
look good for him if it’s left to the Veterans Committee. They are
definitely old school and less forgiving than the sportswriters and general
public.
Let Shoeless Joe in and wait another 10 to 15 years on
Pete. He belongs in the Hall of Fame……..barely.
I do disagree with your take on the ARod for Manny
trade. I would love to see ARod go to the Redsox; it would be great for
Boston and great for baseball. His talent and class deserve the East Coast
exposure. Your bitch should be with the greedy Texas Rangers, not the
players union. The Rangers gave 96 million dollars over the length of ARod’s
contract that they could save or spend on much needed pitching, but they are
not satisfied with that. They want Boston to pony up the difference between
Manny’s salary and ARod’s, approx 28 million. I don’t blame ARod for trying
to make it work, but to do so he had to restructure and devalue his contract
with the Redsox. If he devalued his contract by the 28 million (this figure
has since been lowered but it’s still not workable) this would technically
save Boston 28 million, which it in turn would give to the Rangers to
complete the deal. The union then stepped in with its only recourse, which
was to put the pin back in the grenade. Once you push that snowball down the
hill it only gets bigger. If you think that this would be a one-time
exception you’re on crack. They would be leaving themselves open to a slew
of own-ers reneging on contracts and demanding restructuring, if not
canceling contracts alto-gether.
Texas should be happy a team is willing to take on the
worst contract in the history of professional sports. The union’s agreement
is designed to protect all players, stars and roster fillers alike.
I know your argument “why can’t two sides who want the
same thing be allowed to pursue their agendas as long as both sides agree?”
You mean like “do overs”? Not going to happen.
So what have we learned? Be aware of what you propose
and be aware of what you sign. There are no “do overs” in baseball. And that
is management, labor 101.
I saw the sweatshirts that Magpie gave out this year,
another nice effort, but it’s time for a change. I talked Scott into selling
Art F/X and investing in a sports car dealership and prostitution ring. So
I’m expecting big things from next year’s winner. And if I should be so
honored to win the Championship next year, I promise a Mont Blanc in every
pocket, a Rayban on every nose, and a Murray’s lawn mower in every garage!
Of course if one of you win, I don’t want a pen, I’d lose the sunglasses and
I already have a Murray lawn mower, so see Scott for my present.
I can’t wait to hear those beautiful four words:
PITCHERS AND CATCHERS REPORT
Underbelly
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