it was usoc, not obama

Predictably the right-wing is ecstatic, reveling in the defeat of an American city by a bunch of foreigners. They're spinning Chicago's failure to win the 2016 Olympics as a repudiation of President Obama.

Wrong. Washington Post sports columnist Tracee Hamilton nails it: this was a repudiation of the US Olympic Committee. The International Olympic Committee and USOC have been fighting over TV money, and surprise that ended up being reflected in the vote.

Plus there were other factors. Brazil's president was there too, as were the Japanese and Spanish prime ministers. There has never been an Olympics in South America, and Rio is certainly a world-class city - it's not like Chicago lost to Podunkopolis, Nowhereistan. And the US has already hosted more Olympics than any country, most recently Atlanta 1996. We don't have any natural right to host every fourth or fifth Olympics.

But the right-wingers won't let reality get in the way of a good story. No reason to expect this to be different.

olympic hype

President Obama is in Denmark, pushing Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics. He's received some criticism for this, especially from the right-wing who probably think this is one more step in imposing islamo-fascist-nazi socialism in the good old US of A.

I don't have a problem with it, personally. Obama's counterparts from Chicago's competitors (Tokyo, Madrid, Rio) also made the trip to Copenhagen to pay obeisance to the Olympic committee, a corrupt group of old men who no longer satisfied with booze, bribes, boondoggles and young girls, also want to be toadied to by political leaders before granting some city the privilege of hosting an orgy of over-hyped steroid-fueled athletic competition.

It's a coincidence that Chicago, Obama's adopted home town, is the US candidate, and that raises suspicions by people who are already suspicious about everything Obama does.

But if de facto President George W. Bush had made a similar trip in 2001 to support Dallas or Houston for the 2009 Olympics, OR McCain were in Denmark this week talking up Chicago, USA, I would have been fine with that. It's how the game is played, unfortunately.

glad to see congress is focused on the key issues

On Friday the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection had a hearing. Texas Republican Joe Barton, who has introduced legislation on the issue of the day, said "It's interesting that people of good will keep trying to tinker with the current system, and to my mind it's a little bit like -- and I don't mean this directly -- but it's like communism. You can't fix it. It will not be fixable. Sooner or later, you're going to have to try a new model, and that's why we're here today."

Strong words from Congressman Barton, who even used the "communism" card. So what system is he decrying? The practice of corporate chiefs to name their friends to their compensation committees to guarantee fat raises? Price-fixing by the oil companies? The system by which businesses and their lobbyists get special little bits of legislation passed to benefit a certain class of business, defined so narrowly that only the particular firm in question can benefit?

No, Joe Barton is complaining about the college football Bowl Championship Series.

Now look, I'm sympathetic to the Boise States of the football world. Yes, the BCS is a sour, pustular chancre on the face of college football. Yes, the big power conferences plus Notre Dame have rigged this to guarantee the vast majority of TV bowl money continue to flow into their pockets. Yes, the NCAA is a bunch of weak-willed wimps for not allowing a REAL championship for big-time college football, the way it is done for college basketball and wrestling and swimming and baseball and water polo and volleyball. The way it is even done for FOOTBALL, outside of the big Division 1-A schools.

But why is the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection talking about this? Ultimately, the NCAA is a private organization. Believe it or not, there is NO national interest at play in how the NCAA rigs its championship bowl games. There is NO compelling reason for Congress to be involved.

Funny, I thought the Republicans wanted the government to keep its nose out of private business.

oh, futility

The Detroit Lions finished 0-16. I'm not from Detroit, I'm not a Lions fan or a Lions hater, but I hate to see any team (with the possible exception of a team or two that I hate) finish winless like that.

Oh, and this should be a solid reminder that only fools put too much emphasis on a team's preseason performance - back in August, the Lions went undefeated.

three disparate deaths

Linked by nothing but their status as Americans and dieing within a few days of each other - Sammy Baugh, Paul Weyrich, and Mark Felt.

Weyrich is described as one of the founders of the modern American conservative movement. He helped establish the Heritage Foundation and was instrumental in beginning the transition of the 1970s business and Main Street Republican Party into its current Bible-thumping incarnation.

My mother always said I shouldn't say bad things about the departed, so I have nothing more to say.

No such problems about former Washington Redskins quarterback Sammy Baugh, who died aged 94. Baugh was like Babe Ruth in a way; Baugh didn't invent the forward pass any more than Ruth invented the home run, but they both revolutionized their sport by demonstrating the potential of their special abilities. Pro football after Slingin' Sammy was never quite the same - he helped end the grind-it-out, three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust era of football. Oh and he also punted AND played defense, in one year intercepting 11 passes in 10 games.

More on Baugh from Michael Wilbon and Tom Boswell. So long, Sammy.

And finally, former FBI deputy Mark Felt died aged 95. Felt is of course most famous for having been Deep Throat, Woodward and Bernstein's inside source on the illegal activities of the Nixon Administration we all remember as Watergate. Felt, Woodward, and Bernstein managed to keep the secret for over 30 years before Felt came out in 2005. Whistleblowers like Felt always deserve a measure of honor.

one more reason to hate golf

I hate golf. It's boring to watch. Golf courses in places like Palm Springs are hideous wastes of water. And it's boring to watch.

And now, the LPGA is requiring that all of its golfers be able to speak English - now the official language of the LPGA. And they aren't even subtle about why - the economy is bad and the LPGA wants "sponsors to be able to interact with players and have a positive experience."

Because, you see, there are a bunch of Koreans on the tour. And apparently they speak Korean better than English. The penalty for not being able to pass an English competency test will be suspension from the tour.

Wouldn't it be easier for the LPGA just to require that its players be white? And not look too lesbian? Then they could save the hassle of dealing with English tests.

Since when did a sport that is allegedly a test of skills become something where you need to speak English? I'm not saying it may not be good for the international players to learn English when playing on the US tour. Speaking the language where you are playing or working is a benefit. But to suspend them if they don't is frankly bizarre.

What, the LPGA is taking instructions from the Republican Party?

change the channel, the olympics are on

So the Olympics are kicking off in Beijing on this 8th day of the 8th month of the 8th year (of this century). And I'm not excited.

No, this isn't an anti-China thing. Their human rights record sucks, true. Especially in Tibet. But it's not political - I didn't care about the Olympics in Athens or Sydney or Atlanta (and so on) either.

No, it's quite simple. Most Olympic sports are boring, and the exciting ones are not at their best in the Olympics.

Why watch the 100 meters dash or diving or the 400x4 relay or weightlifting or gymnastics or synchronized aquatic knitting NOW, when we pay precisely zero attention to them the rest of the time (unless your are unfortunate enough to have to drag your son or daughter to practice)? Just because there are a lot of events happening at once doesn't raise the enjoyment value of them. It's like reading a boring book while watching a boring TV show and listening to a boring CD - it's still all boring.

And all those "sports" (this goes for the Winter Olympics, too) where your score is based in part on what you are wearing and what music is playing in the background is hardly a sport. Why not include ballet? Or sheep-shearing? I can't stand things like gymnastics where the scoring is so non-transparent. Like it or not, you can tell in golf or tennis or soccer or volleyball (which actually I like to watch) who won without having to resort to a panel of judges who often as not vote for who they want to win rather than on the basis of the performance.

Yes, there are some good sports at the Olympics. But Olympic soccer does not compare to the World Cup, or the European championships, or the Copa America, let alone to top-flight European leagues. Baseball, now on Olympic life-support, doesn't include Major League players (part of the reason it's being axed) and this year has some absurd rules to speed up a game that hits the 11th inning. A regular season game between the Cleveland Indians and Seattle Mariners will have better players than the Olympics.

Basketball is somewhat an exception to this, now that the rest of the world has largely caught up to the US. But even for this sport, there are world championships that mean a lot. International basketball wouldn't suffer from the demise of the Olympics.

What would suffer are advertisers, who will again drop big bucks to get their messages onto NBC.

Which reminds me of another reason I can't stand the Olympics - our over-the-top coverage. It's all USA, all the time. It's a pretty good bet a sport won't get coverage if there isn't a good chance of the US winning a medal. Unless, that is, one of the US athletes has some inspirational sob story to tell, like his/her mother, formerly the father until the sex-change operation, fighting a rare disease that turns his/her/its knees into M&Ms, which makes it hard to walk and to keep the chocoholics away. Meanwhile, an athlete from Lower Slobistan could be breaking every record in existence for his/her sports and NBC won't devote more than 17 seconds to it. I swear, 20% of Olympic coverage as seen in the USA is devoted to the "Stars and Stripes" being played after an American athlete has won a medal, another 50% goes to more inspiration stories, like the one about the athlete raised by gila monsters in the Arizona desert and not even SEEING a swimming pool until she turned 15, but overcoming chronic sunburn, difficulties in adjusting to a diet that doesn't consist of bugs and small rodents, and speaking Lizardish better than English to make it onto the US swimming team to compete in the 666 meter reverse potato-stroke race.

The other 30%? About 4% to actually SHOWING events, and 26% for advertising.

Whoops, is that the Olympics? Quick, change channels - surely there's something better on TV, like a rerun of "Judge Judy".

our long national nightmare is over

I was going to save that headline for election day or inauguration day, should Obama beat McCain. But we have seen the end of a TRUE nightmare that has had the nation truly gripped by the horror.

I refer, of course, to the Brett Favre saga.

Would Brett be allowed to play football after retiring in March? Would the mean old Green Bay Packers refuse to let him return to the team, and refuse to trade him somewhere else? Would Brett accept that insulting consolation prize, $25 million over 10 years to do some sort of work that sounded like it wouldn't take too much effort (newsflash to Green Bay: I'll do whatever you wanted Brett to do for 1/100th of the price).

But in a flash of diplomatic genius, the Packers managed to trade Favre to the New York Jets - keeping Brett happy that he can play at least one more season, raising unrealistic hopes among Jets fans that this will mean a Super Bowl win, and keeping Favre safely out of the NFC Central.

Truly, our long national nightmare is over. And ESPN can get back to covering the pennant races.

blood on the tracks

We all have heard how Eight Belles was killed in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. Yes, killed not euthanized - although I understand the vets had no option given the extent of Eight Belles' injuries. She was killed in being forced to exert her body to the nth degree - and unfortunately, to a degree that her fragile legs could not take.

This raises questions. William Rhoden asks why horse racing hasn't been put "under the umbrella of animal cruelty?" Personally, I think it qualifies very well.

Not because running is inherently cruel to horses. Of course it isn't - you can go to a pasture and watch horses run for the fun of it. But Triple Crown quality thoroughbreds aren't regular horses. They don't just run when they feel like it. They are run frequently, and hard, with a human on their back. They are bred for running as well, unlike "regular" horses.

As Sally Jenkins writes, "Modern thoroughbreds are bred for extreme speed, maybe to the point of endangerment. Thoroughbreds are muscularly more powerful than ever, but their bone skeletons seem to be getting lighter and frail."

The grueling pace of training and racing, and the changes in their physiques, makes these thoroughbreds more and more vulnerable to catastrophic legbreaks. But it will go on, because there is big money at play. And big egos, since owning thoroughbreds seems to be one of the things the rich (nouveau or not) like to do to stoke their sense of self-worth and importance.

Horse racing also lacks one other thing that separates it from other dangerous sports where catastrophic, and even life-threatening injury can result.

There is no consent from the participants themselves, the horses. Eight Belles I am sure loved to run. But she was not informed of the risks and was never asked if she was willing to participate.

So I'll give you boxing, since the people involved can make their own decisions. Ditto auto racing, football (American-style), ice hockey, etc. But leave the horses alone.

better not to try than to try, fail, and be criticized

Dave Sheinin raises an interesting topic - the idea that a four-man pitching rotation in baseball might be better than the current five-pitcher standard. The idea isn't new - until the late 1970s it was the standard.

Since then, various baseball analysts have studied the question and found that pitchers are as or even more effective in a four-man rotation than in a five-pitcher setup - and that they are no more prone to injury. (This sounds counter-intuitive but isn't - injuries result more from throwing too many pitches in a given game, rather than from coming back on three days rest instead of four.)

So why don't more baseball teams try this - since as Earl Weaver said, it's easier to find four good starting pitchers than five? Because if you do something that is not the norm and it doesn't work, people automatically assume that the new thing is flawed, and that you are an idiot for trying it.

And that's applicable outside of baseball and the world of sports, too. Easier to stick with the comfortable routine than to risk being innovative for fear of it not working and being tagged an idiot.

celebrating buzz nutter

Let me admit something - I had never heard of Buzz Nutter before reading his obituary today. Yes, I knew about the Baltimore Colts of course, and Johnny Unitas and the Greatest Game Ever Played. And I realize the Colts would have had a center for that game.

And that center was Buzz Nutter.

In reading the obit, it sounds like Nutter had a pretty good run. Played pro football for about 12 years - and it sounds like he was a good center, always important for an offensive line. Then he ran a beverage distribution business for 40 years before dying of a heart ailment aged 77.

Not a bad life.

And that name. "Buzz Nutter." It is a name too good to be true. A name for a blue-collar hero, maybe in a space setting. A good name for a 1950s-era pro football player.

So long, Buzz Nutter.

a modest proposal for the olympic torch run

The Olympic torch parade from Greece to Beijing is being thoroughly rained upon as protesters repeatedly interfere with its progress.

Now the International Olympic Committee (that reviled group of avaricious corrupt old men, but that's a different story) is considering changing plans for subsequent relays following the most recent problems in Paris.

One day they are looking at - this Wednesday, when the torch makes its one pass through the US of A. The planned city? San Francisco.

If you are the IOC or the Chinese government worried about having a bunch of human-rights-loving, Dalai Lama-supporting, "Free Tibet"-sign-painting protesters disrupt the run, San Francisco is, next to Lhasa, the LAST city on earth you would send the torch.

So, in the spirit of international solidarity and Olympic good cheer, I would like to offer the PERFECT American place to let the torch run. Well, not quite American - but close enough for Olympic work.

Guantanamo.

Seriously, think about it. Gitmo has two classes of people: American military personnel (perhaps with a few scattered civilian torturers among them) and a bunch of imprisoned Arabs and Afghans who for purposes of this discussion, are not a significant factor.

You can fly the torch, athletes, IOC officials, and Chinese government types down there for a glorious day in the sun. You can get a sun-tan company to sponsor the event.

For the athletes, you will have palm trees and a sunny day and nobody will try to grab the torch.

The IOC officials won't notice anything amiss. They are used to dealing with corrupt and repressive regimes.

The troops there can be counted on to behave. After all, American troops are so well trained they can pose behind the de facto President and Vice-King Cheney and keep a straight, nay even an attentive and supportive expression on their faces, while Bush and Cheney make the latest ludicrous allegations that the latest bombing in Baghdad means we are winning in Iraq. The troops will have something more interesting to do for one day than routine drills and hosing down blood-spattered torture chambers.

And being at an American prison/torture camp might bring back waves of nostalgia for the Chinese government types.

Really, this is a can't-lose proposition. I urge the IOC to make the change immediately. For the Olympic ideal.

fragility

The Washington Nationals just released John Patterson, at one time a promising pitcher who was the ace of their staff. Patterson is just 30.

Remember that, when you're moaning about athletes' salaries, that for every one who plays till he/she's 40 and makes a mint, there are hundreds of others who never make it to the top grade and a big contract, or end up injured and washed up at a time that many of us are just BEGINNING our (non-athletic) careers.

I hope Patterson's arm regains its strength and he can pitch in the majors again. But you can't bank on it...

good news, bad news

The good news from Super Bowl 42's upset New York Giants victory over the New England Patriots - Boston-area sports fans' heads won't swell to dangerously massive proportions just yet, pending the conclusion of the Boston Celtics' NBA season.

The bad news - we missed the perfect (pun intended) chance to shut up the aging ingrates also known as the 1972 Miami Dolphins. Every year, these fading jocks celebrate the defeat of the last undefeated NFL team. Yes, they have every right to be proud of their 17-0 run. But show some class, will ya, and quit cheering when an NFL team suffers its first loss of the year. It's not like YOU had anything to do with it.

it's fun disliking the redskins

I'm no Washington Redskins fan. I can't stand the constant hype about them in the DC area - it turned me off of them a long time ago, especially when they were winning Super Bowls.

So I must say thanks to Daniel Snyder. He makes it fun and satisfying to root against the Redskins.

First, he's a spoiled rich brat. Yeah, sure I'm jealous - I wish I had the cash to own an NFL team. But he's not just rich he's spoiled. Remember - he even illegally had trees in a national park cut down near his mansion so he could have a view of the Potomac River.

And he has been a hilarious failure as an NFL owner. Year in and year out, the Redskins have the highest payroll in the league. And the return on that investment is usually something like a 7-9 record, punctuated by an occasional short stint in the playoffs.

No Redskins' hiring decision is handled remotely well. You remember how Marty Schottenheimer was treated after a successful season. Well Snyder's done it again, announcing BY PRESS RELEASE that Gregg Williams won't be a candidate to succeed St Joe - and hiring Williams' successor in secret. Completely classless. Completely guaranteed to increase alienation among the players and fans. Bound to make well qualified coaching candidates and players to think twice before accepting the big bucks that the Snyderskins offer.

Daniel Snyder is like George Steinbrenner was in the 1980s and early 1990s, running the Yankees into the ground and spending a lot of money to do it. Steinbrenner eventually was persuaded to let baseball professionals run the show and the Yankees had that streak of championships. Will Snyder wise up?

I sure hope not. This is fun.

bush speaks out against wrongdoing!

Here is a statement from de facto President George Bush.

"I understand the impact that (public figures) can have on our nation's youth. And I just urge . . . those in the public spotlight . . . to understand that when they violate (the law), they're sending a terrible signal to America's young."

A stirring statement against corruption? No. I fiddled with this a little bit. Here's what he REALLY said.

"I understand the impact that professional athletes can have on our nation's youth. And I just urge . . . those in the public spotlight, particularly athletes, to understand that when they violate their bodies, they're sending a terrible signal to America's young."

He was talking, obviously, about the Mitchell Report and steroids in baseball.

But gosh, just think if he applied the same high standards to his own de facto administration? Imagine if he expected "those in the public spotlight" to actually obey the Constitution and the law? Imagine if he was worried about the "terrible signal to America's young" he and his cronies are sending by condoning torture and by using US attorneys to conduct partisan witch-hunts right before elections?

I don't want to hear what Bush has to say about baseball. I wish he'd become Commissioner of baseball instead of President. Better that he screw up the sport I love than he screw up the country I love.

surprise, surprise, they got the rocket

George Mitchell finally released his report on steroid and other booster drugs being used in baseball. It is as bad as expected.

And it seems Roger Clemens' people are upset that he has been named in Mitchell's damning report - in fact, there were nine pages worth of mentions. Clemens' lawyer Rusty "Rusty" Hardin says, "There has never been one shred of tangible evidence that he ever used these substances and yet he is being slandered today."

No tangible evidence? For Pete's sake all you have to do is look at photos of Clemens at age 20, 30 and 40. He is the white, pitcher version of Barry Bonds. All the evidence you need is in his thickening neck.

But that good old boy for some reason got a free ride from much of the baseball press, while Bonds very much did not so.

Now he can stay on his damn farm in Texas and quit coming back for his half-season specials.

at least cy young is clean

Wouldn't it be ironic if baseball's home run king (gag) Barry Bonds were actually convicted and were kept out of the baseball hall of fame, as is hit king Pete Rose?

At least Cy Young, long dead with a record for most wins that will never be approached, appears unlikely to run into legal problems.

unexpected news of the day

While going through the headlines today a very very unusual event jumped out at me. No, not the fact that de facto President George Bush actually visited an Army rehabilitation facility for injured troops - admittedly an odd event, since usually Bush visits military bases as a way to get a safe audience to cheer him on.

Nope, the Cincinnati Bengals' victory over the Baltimore Ravens is what caught my eye. The Bengals won, 21-7. It was in Baltimore, so a road victory by the unimpressive Bengals is a bit of a surprise, but that's not what was weird to me. After all, 21-7 is a pretty normal football score.

But the Bengals didn't do it the easy way with three touchdowns. Nope, they got to 21 with SEVEN field goals! Shayne Graham (admit it, you hadn't heard of him either before) had a pretty good day at the office, and actually tied an NFL record for most field goals in a game, done three times before, last time in 1996.

not to gloat, but...

If you needed any final proof that the 2007 version of the Notre Dame football team truly sucks, this is it. They lost in overtime to Navy for the first time in 43 games. Last time Navy beat Notre Dame, Lyndon Johnson was President, the Beatles were a hip new act out of Liverpool, no man had landed on the moon, and a young buzz-cut cadet called Roger Staubach was the Navy quarterback.