Time Warner (Oh, Oh), Greg Maddux Back to LA, and Why Must Lesser Athletes Piss off the Best in their Sport?
So I’ve had quite the horrible last few days. Idiots galore, topped off by McAfee/Parago rejecting a rebate of mine for $65 for a missing UPC (they said I have to mail in the original UPC…too bad I SENT IT WITH THE ORIGINAL SUBMISSION!!!), and now, there’s an eerie light outside of my window.
Relax, UFO folks, it’s not an alien. It’s just a bunch of cops, flashlights in hand, probably looking for some suspect hiding in our apartment complex.
Wait a sec…
(me hides under my blanket)
- I got an email from Time Warner yesterday, saying that my latest bill was ready.
Oh great, I thought to myself, how much higher is this month’s bill going to be compared to last month’s?
You could imagine the utter shock and surprise when I opened the email, and saw that my bill actually went DOWN.
(You know…the opposite of UP.)
- It’s not official yet, but apparently the Dodgers are nearing a trade for veteran P Greg Maddux. No details have been released yet, but speculation is that the Padres have not yet decided on what player(s?) to accept in a deal. It’s pretty clear that the player will not be anyone on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster, because of the fact that such a player would have to clear waivers first before he could be included in a deal (and there’s no way that a team like the Rockies wouldn’t claim that player first, effectively killing the deal).
I just hope McCourt…er…Colletti isn’t throwing in a high prospect or two middling prospects just to get the Padres to pay most of Maddux’s remaining salary.
Full thoughts on this deal will come as soon as the details of the trade are released.
- I was watching women’s beach volleyball—May-Treanor + Walsh versus a Brazilian team—earlier today, when the announcer told us a story of something that happened earlier in the day. Apparently, the Americans were on the best practice court, when the Brazilian team came by and demanded that the Americans leave the court. The Americans obliged, though no word on whether or not the Americans cursed the Brazilians under their breath.
So how did the Americans respond? 21-12, 21-14, and to quote Brett Myers, “BOOM…outta here!”
(Tangent: I’ve used that phrase no less than 50,000 times in the past few weeks, and I expect to use it another 500,000 times before the year is over. Every Dodger HR or pitcher’s strike out, for example, is greeted by one. Thank you, Jim Rome.)
But seriously, I gotta ask: why the hell do people insist on slighting the best in their sports? Exactly what are you going to accomplish from doing so?
You have crybaby Mark Spitz—GREAT article, by the way—Ian Thorpe, and Alain Bernard dropping jabs on Michael Phelps. You have Rory Sabbatini and Stephen Ames famously ripping Tiger Woods. I’m certain people have ripped Lance Armstrong (Jan Ullrich?)and Michael Jordan in the past. And now we have the Brazilian women’s beach volleyball team allegedly disrespecting the Americans?
Let’s call it the Rory Sabbatini Corollary (in honor of Sabbatini, for this reason):
Sabbatini made waves at the Wachovia Championship in May 2007 when, after leading the field by one stroke after day three and then giving up five strokes to Tiger Woods to lose the tournament on Sunday, he proclaimed that Tiger was “more beatable than ever.” Rory went on to lead the field by one after day three at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in August 2007, but ended eight strokes behind Tiger Woods. (source)
and declare that no athlete, bystander, legend, or team shall never again insult, question the ability of, doubt, disrespect, or do otherwise to annoy, tick off, and/or fuel the fire of the best athletes in the event in question.
(Unless, of course, the athlete wants a swift, “BOOM…outta here!” moment.)