from jugo bonita to hgh to big ben and

From Jugo Bonita to HGH to Big Ben and the "Truth"

Yes, I've been blog-less for a while. And the only one who's been on

my case about it is Loyal Reader #2, Cousin Cleatus.

Get used to the following blog-style. My intention for this blog was

to play around and practice versions of Peter King's "10 Things I

Think I Think,' which King posts once or twice a week at cnnsi.com. I

used King's "10 Things" as a writing assignment this semester and much

of it turned out to be the best reading I've done in some time.

This blog edition revolves primarily around sports, which most

probably will. I'll eventually come up with my own title, but I'll let

that develop as this continues. And if you don't like that, let me

know so that I can tell you that it's just too bad.

So...

Things I Think I Think

1. I think it's an absolute shame that soccer is such an unpopular

sport in this country. If you can (stand to) watch any World Cup

action, I suggest that you do so--and pay particular attention to the

fans, if possible. Soccer is the world's sport--well, the non-U.S.

world (if you believe there is one)--and it's truly amazing to watch a

small duel-nation team like Trinidad and Tobago draw even with Sweden.

Of course, the team to watch is Brazil, the World Cup's version of the

New York Yankees. And I'm hoping for a Brazil-Germany final. The Cup

is being played in Germany, so what better way to end it with the home

team playing the world's Power.

2. I think Ben Roethlisberger made a big mistake. First of all, I ask:

even if the law permits it, how do you justify not wearing a helmet,

especially when riding around a city with as many crazy drivers as

Pittsburgh?

Yep, it's his right to do so and I applaud his determination to live

life on his own terms--but they're still ridiculous. Didn't he learn

from Kellen Winslow? Doesn't this now provide Cleveland with the same

fodder that Pittsburgh found amusing when Winslow tore his knee apart

trying to perform a wheelie in a parking lot (even though he'd only

just learned to ride and was still not very stable). Now, if Big Ben

take a shot to the jaw or head early in the season (perhaps against

Miami on Opening Night) and that jaw suffers any types of

complications... well, you can expect a grey cloud to cover Western PA

this fall.

Wait... a grey cloud hangs over Western PA for the duration of every

fall.

And winter.

And spring.

And summer.

Which leads me to an old Western PA saying (and I hope I'm getting

this right): "There are four seasons in Western PA--early-winter,

winter, late-winter, and road work."

3. I Think Shaq's free-throw shooting is the single-most difficult

thing in sports to understand. Ok, I understand the argument that it's

difficult for many big men to shoot FTs because they shoot from an

angle that does not allow them to easily put that much arc on the ball

and the ball needs arc to go in and not clang off the back rim. Got

it. But, to go 1-9 in Game 1, and 1-7 in Game 2, well, the

Roethlisberger-esque.

(Of course, don't forget Roethlisberger's performance in Super Bowl

40. If you've forgotten, well, it was down right awful, though not

awful enough to lose. His passer rating, around 23, was the lowest of

any winning Super Bowl quarterback, which says a lot since Trent

Dilfer is in that company.)

Rick Barry once claimed that Shaq said "no" to learning the

granny-shot (which Barry perfected and is currently the #2 all-time

charity striper) because he was "too hip-hop" and that would crush his

style.

Hmm. Shaq's style right now is absurd. In fact, it's quite laughable.

4. I Think Jason Grimsley is entering a long, dark rest of his life.

I've wondered if the outcome of this story will be something along the

lines of "the hero who lives a life of hell" theme. Yes, he's an idiot

for multiple reasons, one being his having HGH delivered to his home

via mail.

Now that he's spilled the beans, I believe this HGH thing is going to

blow the steroids issue away. And it's not just going to effect

baseball. Look out for the NFL to start facing media pressure. And

once testing begins in both sports, look for more inside linebackers

to return to Jack Lambert-esque sizes.

Grimsley's name will remain in baseball lore in a way similar to Curt

Flood's, though it won't be for good reasons. Grimsley's name will be

similar to Flood's in that they will be best remembered for the major

impacts they had on behind-the-scenes action. Flood, if you don't

know, was the first player to file for free agency--and eventually

went to court to fight for his to sign with any team he wished after a

certain period of time. (If A-Rod does not have a poster-sized

memorial to Flood somewhere in his home, shame on him.)

While parts of Grimsley's career have been impressive--and I really

liked him as a Yankee and hated to see the Bombers release him--he

will always remain "that other guy who spilled the beans" around

Bonds' time. And the saddest part might be that he might not be

recognized as having done something good for the game. (Granted, he

only ratted people out because he got caught.)

Grimsley also made right about $10 million in his 15-year career.

Think that'll help ease a life-time of accusations, negative

associations, and criticism? Hmm.

5. I think www.baseball-reference.com is the greatest thing ever to

baseball fans. Everything any fan ever needed to know at the click of

a button is right there. This site will settle bar bets for years to

come.

6. I Think the "A. J. Pierzynski staring at Michael Barrett's

on-coming fist" photo is one of the funniest pictures I've seen from

the sports world in some time. If you've not seen it, you can check it

out in multiple poster-like forms here:

http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/story/2006/5/20/205435/986

Pierzynski is one of the least-liked players in the game, and I share

that sentiment. Why, I don't know, but, then again, I never really

understand why I like some players and dislike others. I mean, c'mon,

I've never met any of them and can only judge them as to what they do

while playing a game. Weird.

7. I Think it's strange living in South Florida, where the Dolphins

are king. Up until now, I've spent my whole life living in places

where I'm a grossly overpowered minority when it comes to football

fanship. All of a sudden, I feel as if I'm supposed to like the

Seahawks or something.

8. I Think it's interesting how many Yankee fans have complained about

this year's team, especially the pitching. No one seems to think that

the Yankees have a decent pitching staff, yet they are currently

second in the AL with a 4.28 ERA. They've allowed a league-low 60 home

runs (and are actually tied with Texas in that category, which is

super-impressive for the Rangers' staff considering they play in a

Little League-sized stadium).

This, I believe is the real cause for concern: the fielding. While the

Yankees have given up the second-fewest earned runs, they've given up

the fourth-fewest total runs--which equates to a good number of

unearned runs, the product of errors and bad-fielding. The Yanks have

also turned the third-fewest DPs. Not cool. They've got the

second-worst fielding percentage in the AL and that's going to cost

them a ton come October.

9. I Think it's funny that I just read this line written by nfl.com's

Adam Schefter: "If Roethlisberger were to miss any extended time,

Charlie Batch would be the Steelers starting quarterback."

I think it's funny because last fall, I saw a student of mine at IUP

reading Batch's profile on nfl.com days before he started his first

game for Pittsburgh (because Roethlisberger was injured). I made a

comment out loud, in front of the whole class, as to how sad the state

of quarterbacking in the NFL was if Batch had gotten a job back. When

a few Steeler fans erupted, as I knew they would, I said, "Hey,

believe me, I know it's an even sadder state when Gus Frerotte has a

permanent starting job."

Well, wouldn't you know that Frerotte's cousin was in that class?

Imagine my surprise. And humiliation.

I didn't know it, but it turns how Gus is from Kittanning, an old

mining town embedded deep within Western PA terrain. I asked her to

have Gus stop by, but he never did.

10. I Think everyone should see Al Gore's new flick, "Inconvenient

Truth." I'll get into the documentary in a later blog, but I've got

one (funny?) moment from it I've got to share.

So, Gore discusses how if (and when) the North Pole and Antarctica and

Greenland all start to melt (even though they are right now), well,

much of our geography as we know it right now will change, especially

along the coast lines. So, to demonstrate what a map will look like

when the water rises (I believe 20 feet), Gore puts a map of Florida

up, and shows about half of it completely wiped out, including ALL of

South Florida.

Imagine sitting in a movie theatre in South Florida with a bunch of

South Floridians and being shown that you are about to live in

Atlantis.