Donald Trump perpetuates the A-Rod myth

May 9th, 2008 | Posted by PostmanR

When you are Alex Rodriguez, people call you out. You are the highest paid baseball player ever, you play in New York City for the Yankees — this is how it goes. But as FJM has talked about who knows how many times and as our pal Matt Watson points out today, it is utterly preposterous to call Derek Jeter Clutchy McClutcheron and A-Rod a choke artist. It is not that black and white. Simple as that.

But leave it to Donald Trump to keep the line moving on that one:

Trump was in Arkansas on Thursday to speak at the Economics Arkansas luncheon. According to arkansasbusiness.com, Trump talked about Rodriguez, a three-time AL MVP who has been criticized for his perceived inability to come through in important situations.

“He always plays bad under pressure,” Trump was quoted as saying. “Derek Jeter, he’s the greatest. People love Derek Jeter. Are those cameras on? This is going to get broadcast back home. Oh, now he’ll leave my building.”

And since I don’t want to look up stats, I’ll refer to Watson for the kicker here:

This seems like a good place to remind everybody that Jeter hit just .176/.176/.176 in the playoffs last year, has a .699 OPS thus far this season and hasn’t hit a home run in nearly eight months. A-Rod, meanwhile, OPS’d .820 in the playoffs last year .913 in close and late situations the last three years.

So yeah, there’s that. But have you seen Jeter’s heart and desire, the way he dives after those balls and is a True Yankee? Bletch.

The blogger Olympics?

May 7th, 2008 | Posted by PostmanR

Yes, I am still perpetuating the bloggers don’t wear pants stereotype. BUT, if we’ve learned anything from that Home Box Office TV program last week, it’s that all bloggers are not created equal.

In fact, I’m wearing some nice Dockers slacks right now.

Coldplay + ESPN + Soccer = GLOBAL DOMINATION

May 7th, 2008 | Posted by PostmanR

You know, I am going to use this opportunity on our scarcely updated and  poorly trafficked blog to profess a liking for the musical stylings of Coldplay. Sure, they’re overly sappy and lovey and Parachutes might be their best effort and subsequent releases haven’t quite matched up, but damn it, Chris Martin still woos me.  They combine the sappiness with the music in a way that doesn’t seem forced or corny. This is what separates them from say, Gavin DeGraw. Or Train. Or that kid on your dorm floor freshman year that thought he was a musician. (A caveat: I will not defend Coldplay for any of the knocks against them. In fact, I agree with all of it. But I still like them, man.  Sometimes it’s best to enjoy your music like that — realizing the ridiculousness of the setup, but grooving to what is actually coming out of the amplifiers.)

So hey, new album about to drop, UEFA barreling around the corner,  time to drop some tunes on the ESPN crowd.

Coldplay and ESPN have signed a marketing deal that will have the rock band promoting soccer and the sports network promoting the band’s new album.

The marketing campaign announced Wednesday will use Coldplay’s music in promotions for ESPN’s coverage of the Euro 2008 soccer tournament, which is scheduled for June 7-29 in Austria and Switzerland.

ESPN has also agreed to incorporate music from Coldplay’s new release, “Viva La Vida,” into game and studio production. The CD is due out June 12.

Now if you’ll excuse, I have some Times New Viking to go listen to.

Where oh where did the Bulls broadcasters go

May 7th, 2008 | Posted by PostmanR

This will be quick and dirty, because the chances of you actually caring about this reside between 0 percent and .00001 percent. BUT, The Bulls canned Tom Dore and Wayne Larrivee yesterday, their trusty play-by-play men on TV for the last, um, well it’s been a long time. They are good at what they do. Very good. Steve Rosenbloom attests to that today:

Anyone who has listened to Tom Dore and Wayne Larrivee knows they’re hearing pros, from preparation to being on top of the action. Dore had it tougher than anyone, what with working a three-man booth with Stacey King and Johnny “Red” Kerr. I thought Dore was tops specifically because of those working conditions.

And they’re out?

Huh?

A Bulls wonk said the team wanted one broadcast & cable TV voice. Fine. The Bulls wonk said he couldn’t say enough good things about Dore or Larrivee. Fine. Then the Bulls wonk said the team didn’t want to choose between them. Excuse me? You have a no-brainer either way, so you choose None Of The Above? Someone’s lying or stupid. Or it’s about money.

Yes, Steve, you got it right. This wasn’t Scott Skiles losing control of the team or Ben Wallace not living up to his contract — these were two dudes that have been good their entire tenure being shown the door. Pretty. Odd.

When my roommate heard Dore got the boot, he started weeping uncontrollably. And by weeping uncontrollably, I mean he was disappointed for a few seconds then went back to his MacBook.  Hey, life goes on.

There was a streaker at the World Snooker Championships

May 6th, 2008 | Posted by PostmanR

Streaking takes a certain amount of cojones. Not only are you running out into an area of a public place you’re likely not allowed to be, but you’re doing it without any clothes on. And you’re likely going to get arrested. Not much of an upside here. Except hilarity and some thrill. (And maybe a Playboy shoot!)

But this dude streaking at the 2008 World Snooker Championships and then hiding under a table? Meh, no shock or awe here. He at least could have hopped on the table and done some junk shaking. (NOT THAT I WOULD HAVE WANTED TO SEE THAT.)

{Via FanHouse.}

That kid finally took off his Favre jersey

May 6th, 2008 | Posted by PostmanR

Remember the kid who wore his Brett Favre jersey for like, a bazillion days in a row? Well he finally took it off after 1,581 days. Apparently it was getting a bit short on him — wasn’t quite making the waistline anymore. Congratulations are in order. It’s not every day you find that kind of dedication  out of a 12-year-old.

So you know what this means, right? Favre is officially done. Not coming back. Nope not now. Not ever. Thank you social outcast boy, for making it so.