Michigan Football Upset ='s Lloyd Carr Moving On

by Chuck T

The 5th ranked Michigan Wolverines, with three Heisman hopefuls, became the first Top 25 rated team to lose to a Div. I AA team. Was it the greatest upset of all-time? I doubt it. More like the Wolverines being over rated. Regardless, I'm pretty sure that the Michigan alummi/football booster club are already seeking a new coach. One that won't embarass them among their Big 10 cronies at their cushy law firms on Chicago's Michigan Avenue. One more loss and Lloyd Carr may not make it through the season.

Glad to see Pedro Martinez make a successful (yeah, I know it was only 76 pitches) comeback and pick up a win and his becoming only the 15th Big Leaguer to get 3,000 strikeouts. The Mets will definitely need him going down the stretch and in the Post Season, if they get that far. I don't understand how professional athletes can condemn their coach and or commissioner, especially when both athletes have garnered millions as a result of their boss.

Tiki Barber, in his upcoming book says that he'd still be playing if Tom Coughlin wasn't the Giants coach. It seems Coach Coughlin took all the fun out of the game. Phil Mickelson, winner of yesterday's PGA TOUR Fed Ex Playoff event took a swipe at PGA TOUR commissioner Tim Finchem saying that the PGA TOUR schedule conflicted with his kid's first day of school and soccer practice. Then you know what Phil, give up the PGA TOUR and get a job as a teaching pro at the gated community you live in with your family. This way you can be a stay at home dad and will be able to sell your Gulfstream jet for say a few million. Both Tiki and Phil should shut the hell up, especially when both of the people they're cutting down helped them accumulate their vast fame and wealth.

Did you enjoy seeing/hearing the Georgia Tech/Notre Dame score as much as I did? Charlie Weiss' mouth is exceeded in size, by only his waist line. Now they head into Happy Valley, where they very well may take another pasting from an only so-so Div. I team.

The most recent example of "Holy S*&^%, how big is that new contract I just signed syndrome" is Carlos Zambrano, the Cubs' pitcher who has a 9.56 ERA in three starts since signing a $91.5 million five year contract extension. Yes, he's a Pro, but he's also human. And I believe when athletes sign mega contracts, that they dreamed of as a little kid, it is a bit overwhelming. In most cases what happened to Zambrano happens to most athletes when they sign contracts that have more numbers than their cellphone.

Ichiro Suzuki is a classic example of a great athlete who is hurt exposure wise, by playing on the West (Late) Coast. Ichiro just became only the third player to record seven consecutive seasons with at least 200 hits. The other two are Willie Keeler and Wade Boggs. If he played in a time zone in which most of the country could follow his stats on a same day or next day basis, he would be on magazine covers galore.

At the Billie Jean King Tennis Center (a well deserved honor for a living person) I scanned through the women's winners and I have to admit, besides the Williams sisters and Henin I could not pronounce any of the other women's names who remain in contention for this year's last Grand Slam event. They're all Russian or Eastern European, probably training at Bolleteri's since they were in diapers a la Sharapova.

And we can close the book on MLS' coup of signing David Beckham, who will most likely miss the rest of the MLS season as well as England's National Team schedule with a knee injury.

Sorry to see that Brady Quinn did not get the Brown's starting job. But with Frye chosen as the starter, Brady will get the job he's dreamed about since his Pop Warner days before the Browns' off week. With football starting, that can only mean the NHL season is going to start soon and I'll get to see my Avalanche with their new player Ryan Smyth, now that sounds exciting!

Chuck