Ruminations on a Tumultuous Week in Sports
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This week in sports has been riveting and makes for some great television and radio conversation. Working at 1570 AM WNST in Baltimore, I have witnessed so many calls with many differing opinions on several different subjects. The phones have literally been blowing up this week...here are some of my thoughts on this weeks hot topics...
Mike Vick...
...or Ron Mexico...or Ookie...I guess it depends on how you've met this guy. Regardless of his alias, David Steele wrote a very nice column in the Baltimore Sun a few days back that compared Michael Vick's current situation to Ray Lewis and his murder trial. The article pointed out that if Ray Lewis can makeover his image, Vick can do the same. Although the article made some strong arguments, I have to disagree with the majority of what he wrote. The evidence against Ray Lewis was not nearly as damning as it was against Michael Vick. That indictment includes some very specific accounts with a lot of comprehensive evidence that clearly connects Vick to this dog fighting ring.
Remember, he was charged with " conspiracy " to fight dogs, not with the action itself. Thus, the prosecution doesn't need to prove that Vick was actually fighting dogs (which he was), only that he conspired to do so. Also, Vick has been told not to report to training camp...that never happened to #52. Ray Lewis also never flipped his adoring fan base the bird or smuggled a bong through a Miami airport. Ray was never connected to spreading herpes to hookers and using a fake alias in the process. Granted, there are still pockets of the population that are appalled that Ray Lewis has been on the cover of Madden, Sports Illustrated, and ESPN the magazine, that his jersey sales remain high on the charts every season, and continues to sweep up endorsements. But, for the most part, especially through his charity work, Ray Lewis has completely made over his image...with everything surrounding Vick's case, a repeat occurrence seems impossible.
Tim Donaghy and the NBA
Gambling in the NBA (99% of which occurs outside of Vegas) has been estimated to be at the level of 10 billion dollars per month. Looking at the numbers, this is certainly a thriving industry, and it was only a matter of time before an official or player went Pete Rose on the NBA. There has been some recent speculation that Donaghy fixed Game 3 of the Spurs/Suns series in this years playoffs. Looking at the tape, Donaghy made a few bad calls, but the other two referees were worse...much worse.
Donaghy would be stupid to fix a playoff game. It's much easier to fix a Celtics/Grizzlies game in March than a playoff game when the eyes of the sports nation are glued to what many people believe was the "true" NBA Finals. The evidence against Donaghy is very strong...in 15 games that he officiated, the "over" team won all 15...the odds on that are something like 32,000:1.
On the local front...
The Ravens have signed all draft picks, including Jared Gaither, except for 1st round draft pick Ben Grubbs. We still have a little less than a week until training camp, but I'm not concerned. Although he was the highest ranked guard in the draft, when was the last time you heard of an offensive lineman holding out of training camp?
Last night at Camden Yards, the O's honored Cal Ripken, Jr., who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sunday. There was a big no-show on the field prior to the game...that's right, none other than Peter Angelos himself. Andy MacPhail was out there and he's only been here two months! This is just another egregious action from the worst owner in sports. How do you not show up to honor CAL RIPKEN?! Arguably the most beloved Baltimore sports icon EVER! Another no-show worth mentioning is Frank Robinson...he was invited, but declined the invitation. I wonder why? Maybe it's because of how horribly the organization has treated him since Angelos took over...
This Day in Sports...
1850: Harvard and Yale compete in the first organized college billiards match (I know...who cares?)
1978: Pete Rose breaks the NL record for most consecutive games with a base hit (38).
1990: Rosanne was booed after singing the National Anthem at the Padres game.
1999: Lance Armstrong wins his first Tour de France
2004: Lance Armstrong wins his record sixth-straight Tour de France.
