Friday Fryer (July 20, 2007)

Carpenter has not pitched for the Cardinals since opening day. He was, however, the Cardinal’s ace during their surprising World Series run last year. With the Cardinals sitting with a current record of 43-49, it is likely that the loss of Carpenter will have no additional impact on the Cardinals chances of making the playoffs. Those chances are long since gone.

With that said, it is never good to see a pitcher, especially an ace, going under the knife for Tommy John Surgery. The recovery time, these days, for this surgery is roughly 8-12 months. So Carpenter will not be back into the rotation until May of next year.

Injuries are a part of the sports landscape. They are also ample grounds to receive a Friday Fryer nomination. Thus, Chris Carpenter gets a Friday Fryer nod for this week.

Yes, it is true that the Phillies lost their 10,000th game this past Sunday. It is also true that the club has lost three of four on their current West Coast road trip. Simply put, the death rattle is beginning to sound for the 2007 addition of the Phillies.

Nonetheless, there are two other worthier Chair occupants this week. Including one that will likely earn several times because of a breaking scandal. Hence, the Phillies continue to lose, both on and off of the field. They should be use to it by now, though.

The potential fallout from this scandal is huge, not only for the NBA, but also for the entire pro-sports industry in the United States. Once the integrity and credibility of the competition is lost, then what is the point of watching the game? Once you cross that threshold, the sport simply becomes just entertainment – one in which the performers are highly overpaid. The excitement will be gone and so to will be the fans.

With all of the money now involved in pro sports, it is only a matter of time before the whole thing collapses. Personally, I was hoping that the collapse would occur after a Philadelphia pro-sports team wins another championship. The hope for this is still alive, but this emerging scandal just lets me know that the clock is ticking, and it is ticking fast.

At the very least, this gambling scandal will end Los Vegas’ hopes of ever having a professional sports team. This is a good thing. The bad thing is if this is only the tip of the iceberg in regards to this scandal. Are other referees involved? Are players? It is too early to tell how bad this is. Thus, the NBA only gets a nomination for the Friday Fryer Chair, and not the Chair itself.

The indictment lists several deeds that Vick is accused of doing. These deeds involving dogs are just plain ugly – we are talking physical abuse and death of the animal. If Vick is found guilty or pleads guilty, then his image will be forever tarnished. No sponsor will come within 10 feet of him. Fans will hate him because no one likes someone who abuses dogs, they are, after all, men’s best friend. All of this will likely shorten his NFL career, which was already being questioned due to his lack of improvement at the quarterback position.

The dumber part of this goes to the NFL. The NFL implemented a get-tough policy for NFL players who got in trouble with the law. This policy was suppose to be zero tolerance, meaning you get busted by the police, you would be looking at a suspension from the NFL as well.

Until next Friday, AMF!