The Week That Was 7/03/06 - 7/09/06

 

ED:  Yep, Bill at 22 is now treading in "failed prospect" territory.  Of course, he has TOOLZ!  So MC Bowdes will always have an interest.

 

PR: The one thing that sucks about Ed hating poker is that I totally wanted to steal Bill’s thunder and babble to Ed about Bill’s fine fine James Woods story. But then I realized Ed wouldn’t know nor would he care what I was talking about. All he would be able to fathom was that Bill is too young to know who James Woods is. And then I realized that my life sucks and I am old and my fleeting moments of joy and not shared with anyone. That’s when I cried for awhile before eventually realizing that I needed to go to work. Did I talk about this last week? No – I have zero idea what my original point was.

 

BB: Stupid James Woods. Stupid hot girlfriend younger than me. Stupid poker.

 

SOCCER

PR: Hey! Italy cons its way to the World Cup over France. It helps that Zinedine Zidane is a dirty terrorist or something. I am uncertain. Dave O’Brien and Marcelo Balboa were too busy telling me how great their announcing was and that I sucked for expecting actual soccer knowledge.

 

BB: I was too busy holding a bike up. While watching PKs I wasn't sure whether Fabien Barthez was going to be the useless keeper or the unlikely hero - I should've just stuck with useless keeper. I am pretty sure he still hasn't seen any of those goals go in yet.

 

PR: The parade of international retirements and coaching changes began. I’ll let you know when the US comically hires Bob Bradley.

 

BB: TEASE!!!! RED BULLS!!!

 

PR: Fabio Capello leaves Juventus to coach Real Madrid. Aww… Fabio apparently follows college basketball.

 

BB: Wait - what now?

 

PR: FIFA hates Greece. Bans them for awhile. Sepp Blatter not big on Nia Vardalos.

 

BB: Wait - who now?

 

PR: Shaka Hislop signs with FC Dallas. MLS IS SIGNING THE STARS OF THE WORLD CUP!!!! BELIEVE!!!!

 

BB: Man, I hope they get A Different World reruns in Dallas. 

 

MLB

ED: DL LIST!!! Royals P Mike Wood (neck), Mariners OF Jeremy Reed (thumb), Mariners P Sean Green (back), Phillies C Sal Fasano (knee), Braves P Chris Reitsma (done for the year with a bum elbow), Devil Rays P Tyler Walker (done for the season to get Tommy John surgery), Mets P Pedro Martinez (hip), Dodgers PVC! Eric Gagne (done for the year with back surgery), Blue Jays P Pete Walker (shoulder), Cubs P Kerry Wood (done for the year with a torn rotator cuff)

 

PR: BUT DUSTY BAKER SHOULDN’T LOSE HIS JOB!!!! A FINE FINE MANAGER!!!! And yes, I wrote Dusty Rhodes as first. Mind you if Dusty Rhodes was the manager he would leave the stadium thinking the Cubs had won only to read the paper the next day to see that they had actually lost.

 

BB: I think the Chris Reitsma dream is dead.  I WAS RIGHT!!! Sal Fasano, by the way, I can confirm is the sleaziest-looking man in baseball. Jesus. I had to shower after watching the Phillies series. Like sixteen times. Showering, not the series. Does that make me a bad fan? Am I not SOSH-worthy? Would I not be allowed to fight alongside CURT'S paladin?

 

ED: ROSTER MOVES!!! The Padres activate SAVIOR! Dave Roberts from the DL. The Phillies call up C Chris Ruiz and OF Chris Roberson and DFA P Adam Bernero. The Mets call up P? Jose Lima and ship out P Heath Bell. The Indians activate OF Jason Michaels from the DL and ship out 1B Ryan Garko. The Yankees claim OF? Aaron Guiel off of waivers from the Royals. The Twins ship out P Boof Bonser. The Giants activate OF Moises Alou from the DL. The Reds activate 3B Edwin Encarnacion from the DL and DFA Quinton McCracken. The Nats activate TOOLZ! Alex Escobar from the DL and ship out P Mike O'Connor. The Phillies activate P Jon Lieber from the DL. The O's DFA OF Luis Matos.  The Mariners DFA DREAMY! Roberto Petagine.

 

PR: Aww… poor poor Petagine. He clearly was too productive in limit time for the Mariners. And yes, we all immediately said “Well you know the Yanks will be signing Matos”.

 

BB: My dad told me that Kevin Thompson was going to be the centerpiece of a trade for Barry Zito. Yep - that's the 27 year old guy who slugged .350 in AAA last year. Mmmm…WFAN. Let's go…sports fans. And Mets. You too.

 

ED: TRADES!!! The Angels trade P? Jeff Weaver to the Cardinals for OF Terry Evans. The Cincinnati Reds pick up PVC!!! Eddie Guardado and cash from the Mariners for P Travis Chick.

 

PR: Jeff Weaver will make a funny crappy Card to replace Sidney Ponson. I am curious of how St. Louis informed Ponson that his services were no longer needed. I am guessing that they just put down a trail of chicken breasts and he followed it right out the door into the parking lot. And by then his stuff was already waiting in the car and they had changed the locks on him.

 

BB: I was hoping the chicken breasts were going to lead to Rich Garces.

 

ED: The All Star rosters are announced. Proving yet again that people should not be allowed to vote. And Ozzie Guillen should stick with gay bashing.

 

BB: Come on. MARK LORETTA!!! He's scrappy Ed. What are you? Right. Old. Not as old as Mark Loretta. But old.

 

ED: All Things Canseco - our man Jose first off, goes hitless in his initial game with the San Diego Surf Dawgs, blasts MLB's steroid policy, then gets traded to the Long Beach Armada of the independent Golden League.

 

BB: This is more than I do in a year. He's got me beat.

 

ED: More Roid stuff - Barry Bonds' personal trainer, Greg Anderson is sentenced to jail on contempt of court charges involving him refusing to testify in the Bonds perjury case. Oh, and MLB denies Jose Canseco's claims that their steroid testing plays any favorites.

 

PR: Is Pedro Gomez obligated to make visits to see Greg Anderson? Are they conjugal?

 

ED: The Yankees and Red Sox announce they have signed like half of South America (And in Peter Gammons' absence, let me tell you, ALL THOSE RED SOX KIDZ HAVE FILTHY STUFF, YO!). Yep, you know Omar Minaya went all Beane when he heard that.

 

BB: I should really take over the Cape Cod beat now that Gammons is incapacitated. Who wants to watch Summer Catch 26 times with me? Come on. I smell nice. I showered, remember?

 

ED: Mariners DH? Carl Everett goes ballistic on Mariners Manager Mike Hargrove. No word is given why Carl snapped - like it takes much - but suspicion is high that it involves Barney night at Safeco.

 

ED: TROUBLE LIST!!! Reds P Brian Shackelford is arrested for third degree sexual assault. The man who is the mascot for the Greensville Drive is arrested for molesting a female fan at a game.

 

PR: Can Shackelford use the excuse that Ohio drove him to it?

 

CFL

ED: CFL Commissioner Tom Wright announces he will not seek a new contract to be commissioner beyond this season.  Oh yeah, you know I am hoping he can be considered for the NFL gig where he can kill off teams I care nothing about.

 

PR: You just like the idea that all the druggies will be allowed back into the league.

 

WEEK FOUR!!!

ED: Montreal holds off Hamilton, 27-21. Why does football hate me so?

 

PR: Would Hamilton and Oakland play to a 0-0 tie if they played an exhibition game?

 

ED: Ricky Ray proves yet again that he is the NY Jets best QB option as he leads Edmonton over BC, 27-20.

 

ED: Winnipeg is the land of DEFENCE!!! as they somehow stop the unstoppable Ricky Williams and hold off Toronto, 24-17.  Wow!  How can anyone stop Ricky Williams?

 

PR: Throw bags of weed at him.

 

ED: Henry Burris goes out of his head as Calgary whips Saskatchewan, 53-36.

 

PR: And much like Ray is the best Jets option, Henry Burris is the best Chicago Bears option at QB.

 

NFL

ED: Steelers QB Ben Overrated is going to be in a music video for something called the PovertyNeck Hillbillies. Oh yeah, you know this counts as fine art in Pittsburgh.

 

PR: What exactly is the video going to be about? Let’s watch Ben puree his food so he can eat it.

 

BB: I like that entry much better if that is a random-stream-of-Rippa-consciousness as opposed to a video theme.

 

ED: All Broncos All The Time - Denver WR Ashley Lelie is holding out of camp because he is not the Broncos #1 WR. Broncos P Todd Sauerbrun faces a month suspension for testing positive for ephedra. Former Broncos THIRD ROUND PICK! Maurice Clarrett signs with a semi-pro team.

 

PR: START UP INDOOR LEAGUE!!! You know they are like Arena League. The both play indoors. God Bless Meltzer.

 

ED: TROUBLE LIST!!! Redskins S Sean Taylor is being sued by a man he allegedly waved a gun at and punched repeatedly. Broncos QB? Jake Plummer is offered a plea bargain deal to settle his road rage charges. Vikings WR Koren Robinson enters alcohol rehab.

 

PR: As long as the room is climate controlled and the rehab classes aren’t run by Dennis Green – Robinson should make it out of there alive.

 

NCAA

ED: Former North Carolina State basketball player Dick Dickey dead at 79. No. I have no idea who he was. But no way I'm passing up that name.

 

ED: Georgia Southern football player Teddy Craft dead at 22 in a car accident.  New Mexico State football player Shana Leaupepe dead at 21 in a drive by shooting.

 

ED: TROUBLE LIST!!! Harvard football player and Captain Matthew Thomas is arrested for attacking his girlfriend.

 

PR: This is the most depressing NCAA section ever.

 

BB: That and me and Sheldon Williams aren't Facebook friends any more. Ouch.

 

NBA

ED: Lots of playa movement, including Ben Wallace signing with the Bulls and the Pistons replacing Wallace with Nazr Muhammed. Some trades too. And everyone named Paxson now in the Bulls front office. But none of the news involves Isiah and the Knicks so we'll just move along.

 

PR: Larry Brown took the JOY!!!! away from the Knicks. Nate Robinson told me. He told me it in the third person but he told me that.

 

NHL

ED: Umm…yeah. Well, so let's say, hypothetically, one would have a cube neighbor who is a touch on the racist side. This is all hypothetical, of course. Let's just say his enlightened views of minorities involve whiting out all holidays that aren't American and/or Christian. Let's just say - hypothetically, of course - that said cube neighbor takes a three day weekend and comes back to find that Cinco de Mayo is highlighted in Mexican green and red on his calendar. Would you fess up to such if you knew about said actions and may have possibly taken part? This is all hypothetical, of course. Oh, and some players switched teams in hockey too. But that's not American. So one may hypothetically have this all whited out. Not that the NHL is not already whited out, mind you.

 

BB: Yeah - like there is anything we can do to that.

 

OTHER

ED: The AFL and NBC fail to reach an agreement for another year of Bon Jovi-Elway TV. AWWWWESOME!!! No more Bon Jovi or Elway on my TV without me having to kill either of them? So God really doesn't want me to go to jail after all?  Wow!  I am as baffled as the rest of you.

 

PR: When OLN or VICTORY or SPIRIT or SWEAT or whatever the network is now called picks up the AFL, they will clearly be marketing to the shutins who like sports with boards that the players can crash into.

 

ED: Roger Federer wins the men's Wimbledon title.  Amelie Mauresmo wins the women's title.  And yep, not one American cared.

 

ED: Jeff Gordon wins the USG Sheetrock 400.  Well...yeah.  I've got nothing.