One man’s cliché is another man’s, umm…

Jeff Cooper, potential MLS owner, apparently subscribes to the Crash Davis school of media relations. Here he is talking about the news that St. Louis should be the next MLS expansion site:

"This puts us in line to be at the head of the class," he said. "This is our moment in the sun, and we're ready to make our case. I think we have a three-, four-, five-month window in which to do that, without a credible bid from another city. The finish line is in sight, and I feel good about it."

We're awaiting confirmation that the potential owner went on to add that he was just taking things one day at a time, but by giving it 110% he’d be able to take the bid to the next level and hit the ground running.

A Santino Rebirth?

The prospect of a truly dedicated Santino Quaranta playing for DC United has me excited. What kind of dolt am I? Hopefully, not the completely gullible kind: Quaranta's Second Chance

The nameplate above Santino Quaranta's locker in the basement of RFK Stadium provides a stark reminder of his status with D.C. United.

"GUEST PLAYER."

For the most part, he is no different than the other nameless candidates competing for a contract and a roster spot, just another hopeful young player trying to make an impression on the coaching staff in the waning days of MLS training camp.

But with Quaranta, there is a history unmatched not only by the other contenders, but also some established players. After never fulfilling the promise he displayed as a 16-year-old rookie midfielder-forward with United seven years ago, after being sidelined by countless injuries, traded twice and waived this winter, the Baltimore native has resurfaced on a trial basis with his original club.

"This is where my heart is," Quaranta, 23, said yesterday. "This is where it has always been. As a professional, I haven't always done it right, but now it's time for me. This is my life, you know?"

...

"He has come a long way and, where he is in this point of his life, I think he is very excited to be a pro soccer player for the first time," United Coach Tom Soehn said. "Everyone deserves a second chance. We're going to give him that opportunity. Whether he takes it or not, we'll still see. He's in a good place and he's hungry."

I was living in DC and a United season ticket holder when Quaranta first came up, and it is hard to explain the amount of promise he showed as a 16 year old. He was the very image of the precocious talent. I can remember playing a friendly against some big time European club (Tottenham?? Bayern Munich??) where Quaranta was bouncing off players and making a dangerous little pest out of himself. You could see the staid foreign professionals shaking their heads as if to say "Who does this kid think he is?"

And that was the point. He was still trying to figure that out himself, and, if a lot of the things he tried on the field didn't quite work against savvy veterans some did work, and work well enough that you wondered what his ceiling really was. But, a rash of injuries and the grind of being a slightly out-of-shape soccer player took its toll, until he looked nothing like the 16 year old kid trying to nutmeg the multi-millionaires.

I'd pay good money to see that kid back. I'd pay even more to see that player grown up and fully dedicated to the game.

Now I am depressed

This only reminds me of how far we've come from the glory days, brief though they were. The Reverend Ike's been cut:

With a $2 million roster bonus due on Friday, Bruce apparently declined to accept a pay cut proposed by the club, leading to his release. Bruce, 35, was due $5 million overall — $3 million in the form of base salary for ’08, plus the $2 million roster bonus.

The Rams offered 3 million apparently, and Ike turned them down. Does he think he'll fare better on the market, or did he think the roster bonus was deservedly his for years of loyal service?

I can understand the calculus here. Bruce isn't really a one or two receiver anymore, and given the Rams other deficiencies (glaring is not a strong enough adjective here), can they afford five million a year for a number 3 who's on the downside of his career? Still, this makes me nostalgic for the greatest show on turf, and the reverend streaking down the sideline against the Titans in the Super Bowl. Sigh . . .

And we're celebrating this . . . why?

Usually, my unreasoned rants against the Post-Dispatch come after I read the St. Louis paper of record. But, apparently, my dislike for the paper is so zen, that I’m denouncing articles before they’re even printed. A week ago, I complained bitterly in these pages about the atmosphere at the Feb. 17 Blues game. Well, at least now I know who to blame:

The Blues' in-game entertainment owes much of its new look to Mark Tamar, the team's first vice president of entertainment and event marketing. They lured Tamar from Washington, D.C., where the NHL honored the Capitals last year
for best fan experience.

A puff piece is a puff piece is a puff piece, but a film major bringing in a Blue bear named “Louie” has put fans back into the seats? If so, shame on the fans. (Although, even I recognize the naked appeal of the Seinfeld look-alike and “kiss” cams).

I’ve got no problem with the team paying attention to the “fan experience,” but I sincerely hope that attendance is up because of the product on the ice, not the nonsense in the stands.

It Had To Happen

After last year, there was no other way to go with this: Cards cut Spiezio over DUI case

JUPITER, FLA. — The Cardinals abruptly released utility infielder Scott Spiezio on Wednesday afternoon, after learning that a California court had issued a warrant for his arrest on six misdemeanor counts ranging from aggravated assault to driving under the influence.

Orange County Superior Court issued a warrant on Tuesday charging Spiezio with driving under the influence; driving under the influence with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent or more; hit and run; aggravated assault; assault; and battery.

Blindsided, the club acted swiftly after learning details that included Spiezio's alleged use of alcohol. Spiezio left the team last August to get outpatient treatment for drug and alcohol abuse. He returned to the club before season's end, and team officials had described Spiezio as doing well in the offseason. They apparently held to that belief until Wednesday's report.

The matter assumed added urgency for the organization, which dealt with several alcohol-related issues in 2007.

"When you look at the past year, it becomes the sum of the parts," general manager John Mozeliak said. "We were at a crossroads. We felt it was in the best interest of our organization and Scott to go our separate ways. I think it would be irresponsible of us to ignore what happened last year."

Cardinals Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr., President Mark Lamping, Mozeliak and assistant general manager John Abbamondi met for about two hours before notifying Spiezio. The club agreed to assume Spiezio's $2.3 million salary plus a $100,000 buyout of next season's option.

From a pure baseball standpoint, I think this solidifies Brendan Ryan's roster spot barring another move by the Cards. Is there a free agent still left out there to plug in? I can't think of one off the top of my head. Of the non-roster invitees Josh Phelps would seem to be in the best position to stick. He can't play third but he can provide a little pop off the bench.

Scott Spiezio: A Dangerous Man

The long arm of California law is looking for the colorful Cardinal:

An arrest warrant has been issued by the Irvine Police Department for Cardinals utilityman Scott Spiezio on six charges stemming from a crash in late December.

The warrant alleges driving under the influence, driving under the influence with a blood alcohol content of .08 percent or more, hit and run, aggravated assault, assault and battery.

The 35-year-old Spiezio, who missed more than a month last season while receiving treatment for substance abuse, was not in the lineup for Wednesday's exhibition game against St. Louis University at Jupiter, Fla.

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa told an Associated Press reporter in Jupiter that he did not have specifics on the warrant and had not spoken to Spiezio.

"I had heard there was an incident in California," La Russa said. "I didn't think anything would come of it.

Spiezio's agent, Barry Meister, did not immediately return a message left by The Associated Press.

Authorities in Irvine, a suburb of Los Angeles, provided the following narration of events before and after the crash, which occurred at 12:20 a.m. on Dec. 30, a Sunday:
Spiezio was seen consuming several vodka drinks at a bar in nearby Newport Beach, Calif., and then driving away in his 2004 BMW. Witnesses saw his car speeding, cutting across lanes and crossing into oncoming traffic before driving over a curb and crashing into a fence at Campus and Carlson avenues, a short distance from his condominium.

Other witnesses saw a man they identified as Spiezio get out of the car and run. Police officers who arrived at the scene found the car, with both of its front tires blown, and verified it was Spiezio’s.

Spiezio allegedly went from the crash site to his condo complex, where a friend noticed that he was disheveled and apparently injured. The friend brought Spiezio into the friend's apartment and tried to clean him up, then Spiezio vomited inside the condo, police said.

When the friend said something about the vomit, Spiezio allegedly became angry and attacked the man, "punching him repeatedly and then throwing him against a wall," according to a statement by the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Lt. Rick Handfield, spokesman for the Irvine Police Department, said Spiezio never has talked to investigating officers, who began looking for him the morning of the alleged incidents.

I guess even if you are Scott Spiezio, you can run but you can't hide.

And you certainly shouldn't drive.

Trade: Backman To Rangers For Draft Pick

The shocking thing is it's a fourth round pick. I never thought we would get so much for someone willing to take his salary. Thank God for New York professional sports franchise spending disease.

Our depth chart at D looks like the following:

Brewer
Jackman
McKee
Johnson
Walker
Wagner
Woywitka
Polak
Dupont

That should be enough to play out the string this season.

Trade: Salvador For Bag Of Pucks

Almost true.

St. Louis Blues President John Davidson announced today the club has acquired forward Cam Janssen from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for defenseman Bryce Salvador.

“We feel that Cam’s style of play will bring energy and grit to our lineup and being from St. Louis, feel that he will be an instant fan favorite here,” said Davidson. “Our depth at defense enabled us to make this move. We admire and respect Bryce as a player for what he did on and off the ice in St. Louis and thank Bryce and his wife April for their contributions as members of our family.”

Janssen, 23, was born in St. Louis and played for the St. Louis Sting (NAHL) in 2000-01. He was the first St. Louisan to play in the Ontario Hockey League when he played for Windsor in 2000-01. He was New Jersey’s 4th round choice (117th overall) in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. The 6-0, 210-pound winger played in 47 games during his rookie season (2005-06) in the NHL and followed that up with 48 games played in 2006-07.

This is a salary dump pure and simple, and one that had to happen with the extension signed by Jackman.

Janssen is a local guy who probably is used to the food at Scottrade Center. If he isn't he will be soon with the amount of time he will be sitting in the press box. He might also discover that Peoria is lovely this time of year (or not...how would I know?)

Too Damned Busy

Southlandish doing his own Spring Training.

I don't think I've read 10 lines of Spring Training coverage. I hate it when I am too busy to keep track of all the worn out clichés and phrases that carefully mask what is really being said. All of the 700 hundred word columns that say fuck all. The forums chock full of tedious back and forths over whether the hang nail suffered by the 42 year old has-been in camp on a minor league contract has doomed the season. I mock because I love. I feel empty right now. I have got to get back into the game.

The upside of my schedule has been that I've been spared the horror that is the Illini basketball season. All is not lost in Illini Country. I was enjoying a happy hour beer Friday when the Kelvin Sampson news broke and a brew has never tasted so fine. Now if Bruce Pearl would just find the grill of a speeding bus, I might be able to call the season a modest success.

On the plus side I do have front row seats for the Cards game against the Twinkies when they travel to Fort Myers on March 24. Most fans down here hope that all the big names travel. As for me, they can stay in Jupiter. Pujols and, uh, lemme see, ok he is the only big name.....Glaus! Yeah, him. I would like to see Glaus live since it would be a first. Other than that, I am looking forward to seeing a bunch of young guys trying to make their closing arguments the last week of camp.

So if you are watching the ESPN highlights, that will my sweet delicious beer sitting on the center of the Cards dugout. And the guy shoveling peanuts and hot dogs down his throat like a starving refugee? C'est moi.

Blues Resign Jackman

This comes as a bit of a surprise, as it certainly looked like he would have been a big chip to possibly move at the trade deadline, but the Blues have signed Barret Jackman for 4 years, $14.4 million. St. Louis Game Time has some details:

ST. LOUIS – St. Louis Blues President John Davidson announced today that defenseman Barret Jackman has agreed to a contract extension with the club. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Barret has been a staple on the blueline for the Blues since his rookie season,” said Davidson. “He logs plenty of minutes per game and will continue to be a key part of our team as we move forward.”

“I have said all along that I wanted to remain in St. Louis,” said Jackman. “The Blues drafted me, I met my wife here and I want to raise a family here. I’m excited about the direction of this franchise and love playing in front of Blues fans.”

You've gotta love the commitment to the Blues shown by Jacks. And certainly you can see the brain trust has put a high premium on what is still a relatively young player at 26.

What this means for the trade market is anyone guess. This might signal the end of Bryce Salvador's time with the Note, and maybe Jay McKee is suddenly the key piece of trade bait.

It looks like the trades have started to roll. (Just heard a rumor that Rob Blake is heading to Colorado...for what I've no idea.) So, hopefully the Blues can get something done.

Alright Jacks...good on ya. Now help get us into the playoffs soon.

When Understatement Is NOT Called For

What was Gordo thinking?

Questions to ponder while waiting for the Blues to revive their offense:

• Do the Missouri Tigers have enough to make a late push?


• Who could have guessed that Illinois and Michigan would be a combined 8-22 in Big Ten play this season?


• Will Tiger Woods ever lose again?

I'm sorry, but if I'm pondering the revival of the Blues offense, I'll need more than three questions to fill up that time.

Collinsville FC Still On Hold

From Bernie Miklasz today:

After finalizing funding for a suburban soccer stadium, Philadelphia will officially receive a Major League Soccer expansion franchise next week. The announcement is scheduled for Thursday.

Jeff Cooper and St. Louis have been shut out again.

Even though Cooper fulfilled the league's No. 1 wish by securing financing for a beautiful soccer-specific stadium complex in Collinsville, the St. Louis bid has been skipped over in favor of San Jose, Seattle and now Philly.

Cooper remains undeterred and upbeat. Though Philadelphia will get the 16th MLS team, Cooper is confident that St. Louis will be No. 17, pegged to begin play in the 2010 season. And he expects that announcement to happen by early summer.

...

There should be no more waiting.

It frustrates me, the way the MLS and league commissioner Don Garber take Cooper for granted. The league couldn't ask for a better owner than Cooper. He's a soccer devotee and a goodwill ambassador, and he will build support for the sport at the grass-roots level.

One of these days, Cooper will run out of patience. Does he feel as if the MLS is misleading him with false promises?

"The MLS has always been honest and up front with me about where we stand," Cooper said. "And I've been given every indication that we're next."

Well, suppose the MLS puts Cooper off again? Suppose Miami makes a late rush to land a franchise, and the MLS ends up being seduced by South Florida's broader demographic appeal?

"I would be pretty angry," Cooper said

I've been impressed with the way Cooper has gone about his business. I don't really have any reason to believe the MLS team in Philly will be unsuccessful, although I cannot say I know that its success is assured either...but it still looks like a necessary step for a league hoping to present a larger national sporting scene footprint.

A team in St. Louis will help in that regard as well - providing a natural rival for the Chicago Fire is not a negligible benefit - but it isn't the market Philadelphia is and, right now, that matters most.

Still, I would like to see the league commit to the St. Louis effort sooner rather than later. To leave them twisting in the wind past this summer, particularly if Cooper lines up more money men as requested, would show MLS to be a pretty bush league operation.

Introductions

No, this isn't a post about how a dispirited John Davidson traded half the Blues to the Eastern Conference for a few bags of pucks and a pack of Marlboro Lights-although who would have blamed him after that display against the Kings last night? Am I right??

No, this post is an introduction to a new writer here on GASL. The Automaticgainsayer ("That's MISTER Automaticgainsayer to you, bub.") is very nearly a lifelong friend; someone who is an ardent Rams and Cards fan; someone who blames me for hooking him on the root canal that is Blues fandom; someone who still in his heart of hearts misses the Gridbirds (if not Bill Bidwell); someone who doesn't really "get" the whole soccer thing, although he claims routinely "There is nothing TO get"; and someone who can write paragraphs that do not use the cheap ploy of copious semi-colon usage.

He is also the same friend whose email I posted the other day.

Aha! Foreshadowing biting you in the ass again!

Welcome aboard Ags.

Foreshadowing

I don't care if you read editors notes or not, you are going to get a little foreshadowing. I got this in my email the other day:

I saw the Blues trounce the Columbus Blue Jackets yesterday. This is the team struggling for a playoff spot? They played with speed, power, intelligence, and an indefinable zest for life. The passing was crisp, with defensemen looking to get the play quickly up ice all night. The power play generated a number of quality chances. There were a few boneheaded plays, such as the shorthanded goal. (Although, I was at the game, and I still have no idea where that Blue Jacket came from. Was he standing by the Blues' blue line the whole PowerPlay? It was like he appeared there via some tear in the space-time continuum. So, given that the Blues defense (I'm guessing) lack a working knowledge of theoretical physics, I'm gonna give 'em a pass on that one. Especially since they were unaffected, and simply continued to dominate as they had for most of the game. There were, however, a couple of very disturbing things:

1. Free Tacos. If one thing is true about St. Louis hockey fans, they love free or/and cheap tacos. Sure enough, shortly after the Blues fourth goal, the chant went up around the arena, "We want tacos." Indeed, the crowd was egged on by the video screen over center ice, and the video ring around the arena, flashing pictures of a symbolic taco, interspersed with the chant itself. After the fifth goal was buried, taco euphoria gripped the crowd. I myself imagined an after-work trip to the Taco Bell, where the sight of 12 cars in the drive-up line would not even be enough to dampen the notion of the 12 tacos I would be scoring for under 3 bucks. My reverie was short-lived, as the PA announcer soon came on to say that fans could bring their ticket stub for today's game TO THE SCOTTRADE CENTER between the hours of 11-2 PM Monday, and exchange the ticket for 1 (one) free taco. Meaning, I could drive downtown (estimated gas, $2.00), pay to park ($2.00 if using the nearest lot, 25 cents if I can score a meter in the middle of the day) to get a free taco (that will have cost me $2.25 at the low end) that I could eat in the car while speeding back to work before my lunch hour ends. Isn't the idea of a "promotion" to promote your product? The only thing this promoted was the idea that the new Blues management is a few tacos short of a combination plate. So, Taco Bell, the main sponsor of past cheap-taco promotions dropped out. Understandable, it was probably costing them a fortune. So, then, drop the promotion! Don't insult your fans' intelligence by pretending the promotion still exists, but in reality arranging the rules so that the only people who could realistically take advantage of it would be the employees at the ScottTrade ticket windows (who, as employees of the Blues, are probably forbidden from doing so). ("Ah, reverend, you opted for our no-claim policy, which explicitly states no claim you make will ever be paid. Which, if you never make a claim, is a very good deal. But you had to go and make a claim and, well, there we are."). Like a marshmallow, such a promotion is pointless.

2. Hocky mascots. An oxymoron on its face, right? Right. Only, the Blues disagree, as evidenced by the giant, light blue bear wandering the seats at the arena. Sigh. I long for the days when the term "hockey mascot" elicited only visions of Nelson Emerson (Look, he threw the puck in the net with his hand! How cute is that!). Now, I'm burdened with the vision of a fat blue bear in a black suit, black tie, black hat and dark sunglasses. Why a bear? I have no idea. Hockey fans dig the big, furry mammal? Why a suit? I'm glad you asked. That would be because the team is called the Blues, and the bear is dressed like, that's right, one of the Blues Brothers. Sigh, again. Does no one over there remember that The Blues Brothers are inextricably linked to Chicago? That's where the movie was set. That's where creators Akroyd and Belushi honed their skills in 2nd city. A giant furry bear in a dark suit and dark glasses would undoubtedly be a Blackhawks fan, I don't care what color he is. Why are we associating ourselves with the city of our most hated rival?

To sum up: Free tacos for $2.25 each. And a mascot cast off from Chicago. Here come the Blues!

It's A Not News Flash

It seems Ryan Howard is worth $10 million dollars a season. No shit Sherlock:

Ryan Howard won his salary arbitration case against the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday when he was awarded $10 million, the highest figure given a victorious player.

The 2006 NL MVP, who had been offered $7 million by the Phillies, became the first player to win in six arbitration cases this season.

Howard tied the record for the highest salary awarded in arbitration, received by Alfonso Soriano in his losing case against the Washington Nationals in 2006. Soriano had sought $12 million.

"I'm sure he's very pleased," Phillies assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "This has been a negotiation that has been very amicable and very professional. It's just a part of the process."

Translation: "Hey, we just tried to screw you out of $3 million dollar this year. Nothing personal."

Wow, the Phillies brass sure are stupid.

A Pre-Spring Check-Up

Here is how I see my sporting life shaping up at the moment:

Blues: Well, now I don't know what to think. A truly dreadful run of games is quickly followed by a run of six games getting at lest a point (4-0-2). The power play, which has been absent all season, goes on a 6 for 13 binge, and the Blues win back to back games by 5-1 scorelines. Hell, even Matt Walker gets into the scoring column.

So, the Blues sit in 10th place, three points out of a playoff spot with games in hand over almost everyone in front of them. That's not a great position to be in, especially since the Blues have a lot of road games in front of them including a beast of a road trip in March...but they have a shot. Is it enough of a shot to be active buyers at the trade deadline? I haven't the foggiest. My instinct is to be patient, and only make a move on your own terms. This team is not set up for any lengthy playoff run anyway...so why panic buy?

Cards: Well, now I don't know what to think. I was committed in my heart to a .500 season with uneven pitching and anemic outfield play, but the bug of spring training optimism has bitten me again. Juan Gonzalez shows up to camp and immediately looks pretty good...and I start thinking of a lineup with Juan Gone instead of Preston Wilson. Hmm..that sounds pretty good. Yes, our entire pitching staff seems to be rehabbing from injury, we have an entirely new left side of the infield to take stock of, Adam Kennedy is still slotted in at second, Pujols elbow has everyone spooked, and a solid portion of Cardinals nation seems to think Jeff Weaver would improve our starting rotation.

However, all I can think about is how nice it is NOT to be counting on Brian Barton to supply an offensive lift.

There is also this other part of me that thinks if we can stay around .500 until the All-Star break and we start to get pitchers back...

Somebody stop me.

Billikens: OK, here I know what to think. The transition to Majerus has been about what I expected. The Bills have a couple of nice pieces, but there simply is no depth of talent in the squad. Luckily, in this years version of the Atlantic 10, talent isn't really all that necessary. So a 18 or 19 wins season looks doable, and the Bills can take their shot in the A-10 tourney. Really, they have as good a chance as anyone to take the thing, so the NCAA's are not out of the question. They certainly have been playing better of late, although it is difficult to imagine how much worse a team could play than the one that only managed 20 points against a truly bad GW team.

Given where they were starting from, I'm pleased. Hopefully, recruiting will be improved.

DC United: I think I know what to expect here as well. There have been drastic changes to the roster, and injuries are cropping up already during pre-season training. Also, I have no idea what to expect from the goaltending. I think it is safe to assume, with all the new aquisitions who are expected to play key roles, that United will need some time to really round into form. Play in the CONCACAF Champions Cup might actually be a benefit in getting the team up to speed, although how much we will learn to a two-leg matchup with Jamaican side Harbour View FC is debatable. Still, it is better to kick the ball in anger than not.

All that being said, I expect DC to be a .500 team going into August. What happens after August will be the interesting thing. If the signings work out as expected and the goal keeping is good, there might be some good soccer to watch.

Missouri Tigers: It will be interesting to see how the Tigers fare in the preseason rankings this summer. I'll guess they will be between 10-15 nationally. It looks like recruiting went pretty well, and Mizzou is keeping lots more in-state talent at home which bodes well for the future. I'd count myself as "wildly optimistic."

Why Must The NHL Always Try To Screw The Blues?

Ever since the Blues had the audacity to make a perfectly legitimate free agent bid for Brendan Shanahan the powers that be in the NHL have had it in for the organization. A Blues GM couldn't burp without the league taking away a first round draft pick and giving it to New Jersey as punishment.

Well that sort of shit coninues. Bid for curb on 'rentals' is angering Davidson

NHL general managers began two days of meetings Monday in Naples, Fla., and one topic on the agenda was "rental" players. With the league's trading deadline of Feb. 26 approaching, some teams will trade for players to bolster their playoff chances and then lose them to free agency in July.

What some GMs are apparently upset about is the idea of a team trading a player at the deadline and then re-signing that player the following summer, as the Blues have done twice in the last two years with Doug Weight and Keith Tkachuk.

The Blues traded Weight to Carolina in February 2006 and re-signed him in July 2006. They dealt Tkachuk to Atlanta last February, and then after requiring his negotiating rights, re-signed him last July.

Some are calling the legislation to curb this practice the "Weight rule" or the "Tkachuk rule." Reports say they want the NHL to ban players from re-signing with their former team for at least one year.

The subject continues to infuriate Blues President John Davidson, who repeated Monday that the team "never broke a rule." There are, in fact, no rules prohibiting players from re-signing with their former team.

"My question would be, 'You're going to let the player go to 29 other teams and not the 30th?'" Davidson said. "The player has the right to go wherever he wants to go. If he wants to go back (to his former team), that's fine. If he wants to go to another team, that's fine. Change the (collective-bargaining agreement). It's an asinine discussion."

Davidson is right. It is asinine but also typical of the NHL, which is the prototype of an "old boys club" if ever there was one. The Blues make a couple of good deals, one of which helped Carolina win a Stanley Cup btw, and the next thing you know they want to change the rules so the Blues cannot do it again. What a joke.

In Praise Of Don Denkinger

The explosion of vitriol I vented last night brought up a painful reminder. No matter how much I love the game of hockey I have to admit they have the worst standard of officiating of any major professional sport in America. MLS used to be the worst, but you can attribute that to being a new league with understandably inexperienced officiating crews who have raised their standard over the years. NFL officiating is notoriously uneven, but good work is often done. The NBA has its problems (like officials getting caught throwing games), but overall the reputation of the average gameday crew isn't abysmal.

The gold standard in officiating has to be the MLB umpires. Yes, there are annoying aspects to their work, like umpires who seem unable to call a consistent strike zone or who deliberately try to antagonize players, but in general they do good work and they do it in a conscientious manner.

Even as notorious a blunder as Don Denkinger's blown call in the '85 World Series shows the superiority of the average MLB umpire. It says something about the integrity of baseball that the first thing Denkinger did when he got off the field was to ask Peter Ueberroth if he got it right. Fundamentally that is what every MLB umpire wants to do, get it right, and it shows. The average NHL official seems more interested in their ego and throwing their weight around than in getting calls right. The worst of the worst, like Mick McGeough, seem to develop personal animosity towards players and teams (for McGeough that would include St. Louis and Edmonton) and they officiate through the prism of their prejudices. You always get the feeling that when McGeough skates off the ice he doesn't ask anyone "Did I get it right?" but instead says "I taught those punks a lesson."

You never got the feeling that someone like Denkinger "had it in" for the Cardinals. Denkinger always made it clear that he wished he had gotten the call right, because getting it right was what was important to him. Certainly every Cards fan wished he had gotten it right too (and maybe that he wasn't behind the plate for Game 7 either when everyone's emotions were so raw), but certainly it never seemed to be about Denkinger's ego.

The NHL could learn something from the likes of Don Denkinger. They won't, but they could.

The Dishonest NHL

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Was This Really Only 15 Months Ago

Crap. I don't think I enjoyed this as much as I should have. Can't imagine when it will happen again.

I'm In Desperate Need Of A Bad Geographer...

...who can make the argument to FIFA that the United States (and presumably Canada as well) are not in North America at all but are really part of Europe and thus the US Men's National Team should be playing in UEFA. The truth is I'm sick and tired of the racist refs the US has to put up with in CONCACAF. The entire region is the UN writ small, except instead of Iran and North Korea being named the heads of "Human Rights" Commissions we have tiny dicked refs with chips on their shoulders because their homeland hasn't quite mastered the wonders of indoor plumbing.

It ruins any enjoyment of watching the game. For example, in the first half of tonight's game we already have had a beautiful Clint Dempsey goal waived away and a yellow card handed out to Bradley...each for the same reason as far as I can see: playing soccer while Anglo.

It simply isn't worth it to wait around for the chance for the US to frogstomp the homelands of these refs whenever they pop up in World Cup qualifiers, because while yes we will pound the hell out of every little Central American country that plays us...in the process we will be dicked around by ANOTHER asshole ref whose age equals his IQ. In the end its boring and pointless. The only team that can match us is Mexico, but even in those matches they get so much help for their co-linguists it can't be all that satisfying.

That being the case I'd rather play in UEFA where people are more civilized (probably because they have the plumbing thing sorted.) I'm sure they have their share of shitty refs as well...but I long for good old fashioned incompetence to take the place of CONCACAF Banana Republicanism.

From My (Near) Death Bed

Good God am I sick.

But, in an act that displays a seriously misplaced sense of duty, I dragged myself into work today...not that my students were happy about it. My head is pounding, my kidneys feel like Albert Pujols is taking a few practice swings in their general direction, and I'm pretty sure my ramblings about Aristotle in the last class were incoherent. Hell, that wasn't even my philosophy class, who are reading Plato anyway.

Still, I do know this. I still want to beat the crap out of Mexico tonight. I'll especially be interested to see if his time in the EPL has had an affect on Clint Dempsey. He can be such a pest when he is on his game, I'd love to see him drive our southern neighbors nuts.

Monday Morning Ramblings

My middle name is Icarus.

* An excellent defensively-minded Super Bowl with an amazing finish. Just my kind of game. I managed to avoid all the hype and only saw the play on the field. I'm sure most people hated it, but two possessions in the first fifteen minutes was fantastic. Crap ads from the sampling I saw, the WHEEL SUCK! Bud Light spot excluded.

* The NFL season is behind us and only two more miserable Illini games darken the horizon before the pitchers and catchers report.

* The Birds have inked Juan Gone to a minor league deal. Prediction: Great spring. Wins roster spot. Stratospheric early numbers. Back blows out by mid-April. Brian Barton shipped back to the Indians, blossoms…..I know. I know. I’m being overly optimistic that Juan could provide us with a couple of weeks of production before an injury sidelines him, but I'm a glass half full kind of guy.

* Great commentary on Liverpool’s less-than-enthusiastic crowd from The Guardian’s Scott Murray in his minute-by-minute coverage of Liverpool v. Sunderland this weekend:

41 min: The Anfield crowd are currently midway through a performance of John Cage's 4'33".

Tell Me These Folks Have Something (Anything) Better To Do

From the "You've Got To Be Kidding Me" file: NFL Commissioner Defends Destroying Tapes

In the face of congressional pressure over destroying evidence from the Spygate scandal, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell defended his actions Friday.

Goodell also said he'd be willing to meet with Sen. Arlen Specter, who sent a letter to the commissioner the previous day asking why tapes shot by the New England Patriots in the cheating scandal were destroyed.

"The reason I destroyed the tapes is they were totally consistent with what the team told me," Goodell said during his State of the NFL speech. "It was the appropriate thing to do and I think it sent a message."

Oh, c'mon Specter. Is there really nothing more substantive to the well being of the country that you could focus on? Everything else is hunky dory I guess.

The folks from Pennsylvania must be thrilled.