In the words of the great San Francisco Chronicle sports columnist Scott Ostler, here are my deep thoughts, cheap shots, and bon mots:
---Manny Ramirez is out for fifty games for violating baseball's drug policy. Manny says that he accidentally took the drug as part of a medical subscription from his doctor. Sure Manny, that's about as believable as Brett Favre saying he's retired.
---Unlike most people, I don't get all worked up over the steroid era. The fact of the matter is that the vast majority of the game was on the juice during the era, and it is time to move on. If people are so disgusted by the steroid era that they choose to abandon the sport of baseball, it's their loss. The game is simply too great to walk away from.
---As a diehard Giants fan, I take a twisted sense of delight from this whole situation. First and foremost, Manny's absence gives the Giants a tremendous opportunity to pick up some ground on the hated blue. Secondly, Giants fans everywhere are enjoying the hell out of the hypocrisy of the Dodger faithful. They ridiculed us for supporting Barry Bonds, yet the bandwagon frontrunners will continue to support Manny. Oh, the irony.
---Speaking of stars in the midst of scandal, Alex Rodriguez belted a three-run home run on the first pitch of his first at-bat of the year last night in Baltimore. Deep down he must have been thinking, "Take that, Selena Roberts!"
---The Magic and Lakers moved one step closer to a conference finals birth last night with impressive wins over the Celtics and Rockets, respectively. However, look for Boston and Houston to rebound on Sunday.
---The suspension of Derek Fisher was undoubtedly warranted. Fisher is a clutch player, and he seems like a nice guy, but his body check to Luis Scola in Game 2 was far and way the most vicious foul of the postseason. The suspension of Rafer Alston, on the other hand, was not warranted. Yes, Alston slapped Eddie House on the back of the head, but the play was innocent and mild in comparison to Fisher's. Alston's slap had no malicious intent; it just resembled the emotion of playoff basketball.
---A few more quick thoughts on the officiating during the second round of these NBA playoffs: Kobe Bryant is a punk, and he gets away with elbows all the time.....I don't know how the refs ejected Ron Artest in Game 2 when he was the one who got elbowed in the throat by Kobe......Speaking of Artest, he is getting unfairly punished simply because of his overblown reputation, as evidenced by another undeserved ejection in Game 3. The refs may think he is a dirty player, but Ron Artest is one of my five favorite players in the league.......And finally, let's hope Stu Jackson resists the temptation to suspend Kendrick Perkins after his Game 3 elbow to the neck of Dwight Howard. It was a flagrant foul, but not a suspendable offense.
---Nuggets-Mavs and Cavs-Hawks change scenery tonight for Game 3's. Dallas and Atlanta are clearly overmatched, but I think they both find a way to win at home tonight. I expect big games from Joe Johnson and Dirk Nowitzki.
---TNT has a spectacular array of broadcasting talent for its basketball coverage. Marv Albert, Kevin Harlan, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Mike Fratello, Ernie Johnson, Craig Sager, David Aldridge, Reggie Miller, Doug Collins, Cheryl Miller, Dick Stockton, Chris Webber...........the list goes on and on. However, one broadcast team just does not do it for me: Matt Devlin and P.J. Carlisimo. Devlin calls each play with the same annoyingly bland inflection, and Carlisimo also lacks energy and enthusiam.
---I'll finish with my thoughts on Brett Favre's possible return: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
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