Rapid Fire Week-in-Review: BYU, No Lockout Yet, Mets Need a Loan, Phillies Doubters, more
Here’s my rapid fire look at the stories from the world of sports that I haven’t touched on yet this week:
• I guess BYU has to be applauded for sticking to its principles and booting leading rebounder Brandon Davies off the team Tuesday for violating their honor code. The school has said he didn’t break the law (reportedly he had sex with his girlfriend, a no-no at the Mormon university), and they seem to have squashed the basketball team’s hopes for a Final Four run. It’s a shame for the other students, and at BYU I think you can actually call them students. I’m tempted to wonder if the punishment is too severe, but it’s better than the “sweep it under the rug” mentality of most schools.
• I was actually wondering if the NFL was toying with us. Extending the lockout 24 hours seemed incredibly promising, but it made me wonder why it wasn’t a longer extension. Today, that longer extension came. There’s nothing really pressing right now for the players or the owners, so a one-day extension meant little in terms of playing a season come September. Reportedly some employees in team offices will be let go if a lockout begins, and what a joke that is.
• A loss may have been one of the most promising things about the Sixers this week. They’re beyond moral victories, but sticking with the Dallas Mavericks is a pretty big step up.
• From SI.com on Tuesday: “[The] host of a Huntsville, Ala., sports talk radio show says he has heard audio tapes, allegedly in the possession of former Mississippi State players John Bond and Bill Bell, that implicate Cam Newton in his father, Cecil’s, pay-for-play scheme that was investigated by the NCAA.” I have to admit, I just don’t care about this stuff after the athletes leave college. It doesn’t mean anything if the NCAA goes into the record books and erases Auburn’s national championship. We all saw it on the field.
• In the ever changing lineup at 97.5 The Fanatic, Brian Baldinger is joining Harry Mayes from 10 AM to noon weekdays, and Larry Bowa will be on regularly with that show and the Tony Bruno Show. Bowa will also be on with Mike Missanelli on Fridays. Both are promising additions to what has been a struggling midday on the Philadelphia sports airways.
• I have to love the fact that the Mets are borrowing money from MLB. Didn’t they just build a new stadium? Isn’t that usually a cash cow for a couple years? And New York is supposed to be the place everybody wants to play? MLB should start contraction right there with that dump of a franchise.
• Tweet of the Week: It comes from Eagles Daily News beat writer Les Bowen, “OK, now that I'm home, I take it all back--watching NFL Network panel vamp w/no new info really IS more painful than standing round 21st&K.”
• It was an 0-2 week for the Flyers. Is there reason for concern or are the boys just as bored by the long regular season as most people?
• I’m a little surprised at the skepticism about the Phillies creeping up with fans. Their offense did drop off at end of last season, and Chase Utley’s health is becoming a bigger and bigger concern. But I just don’t understand going into this season with so much concern when the Phillies have the best starting pitching anyone ever dreamed of.
• I guess BYU has to be applauded for sticking to its principles and booting leading rebounder Brandon Davies off the team Tuesday for violating their honor code. The school has said he didn’t break the law (reportedly he had sex with his girlfriend, a no-no at the Mormon university), and they seem to have squashed the basketball team’s hopes for a Final Four run. It’s a shame for the other students, and at BYU I think you can actually call them students. I’m tempted to wonder if the punishment is too severe, but it’s better than the “sweep it under the rug” mentality of most schools.
• I was actually wondering if the NFL was toying with us. Extending the lockout 24 hours seemed incredibly promising, but it made me wonder why it wasn’t a longer extension. Today, that longer extension came. There’s nothing really pressing right now for the players or the owners, so a one-day extension meant little in terms of playing a season come September. Reportedly some employees in team offices will be let go if a lockout begins, and what a joke that is.
• A loss may have been one of the most promising things about the Sixers this week. They’re beyond moral victories, but sticking with the Dallas Mavericks is a pretty big step up.
• From SI.com on Tuesday: “[The] host of a Huntsville, Ala., sports talk radio show says he has heard audio tapes, allegedly in the possession of former Mississippi State players John Bond and Bill Bell, that implicate Cam Newton in his father, Cecil’s, pay-for-play scheme that was investigated by the NCAA.” I have to admit, I just don’t care about this stuff after the athletes leave college. It doesn’t mean anything if the NCAA goes into the record books and erases Auburn’s national championship. We all saw it on the field.
• In the ever changing lineup at 97.5 The Fanatic, Brian Baldinger is joining Harry Mayes from 10 AM to noon weekdays, and Larry Bowa will be on regularly with that show and the Tony Bruno Show. Bowa will also be on with Mike Missanelli on Fridays. Both are promising additions to what has been a struggling midday on the Philadelphia sports airways.
• I have to love the fact that the Mets are borrowing money from MLB. Didn’t they just build a new stadium? Isn’t that usually a cash cow for a couple years? And New York is supposed to be the place everybody wants to play? MLB should start contraction right there with that dump of a franchise.
• Tweet of the Week: It comes from Eagles Daily News beat writer Les Bowen, “OK, now that I'm home, I take it all back--watching NFL Network panel vamp w/no new info really IS more painful than standing round 21st&K.”
• It was an 0-2 week for the Flyers. Is there reason for concern or are the boys just as bored by the long regular season as most people?
• I’m a little surprised at the skepticism about the Phillies creeping up with fans. Their offense did drop off at end of last season, and Chase Utley’s health is becoming a bigger and bigger concern. But I just don’t understand going into this season with so much concern when the Phillies have the best starting pitching anyone ever dreamed of.
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