GaryMrMets
01-01-2006, 07:01 PM
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/col/story/379123p-321997c.html
The U.S. is in for 'World' of trouble
By T.J. QUINN
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
http://www.nydailynews.com/images/editors/header_thescore.jpg
So the Italian team is only slightly more Italian than the Topeka "Olive Garden."
So the feds don't want the Cubans to play here (don't they remember that's how we got some of the best Cubans in the first place?).
So Alex Rodriguez, the greatest player in the world, and Hideki Matsui will be playing three innings a day in Tampa instead of representing their countries.
Those are all problems.
But when you see the United States team knocked on its big behind by the Dominicans or even the Chinese this March, you'll see why the World Baseball Classic will be the best thing to happen to the game since the wooden bat.
It might not be a great thing for the major leagues, because anything that distracts a paid player from his day job diminishes his contribution. But our little game has grown up and it's time to take note. Baseball isn't just ours and it hasn't been for a long time. This March you will see how mind-bendingly deep the Japanese team is, how much talent there is in Chinese-Taipei and in Korea. You will also see a Dominican lineup that includes Albert Pujols, Vladimir Guerrero, Miguel Tejada, Manny Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano and David Ortiz. If A-Rod changes his mind and plays for the old country, one of those guys will have to be the No. 7 hitter. And they'll all want to show they play for the greatest baseball factory in the world.
With all its obvious problems, the inaugural WBC will give doubters plenty of ammunition, but a World Cup-style tournament will glorify the game the way the Olympics and our two-country "World Series" never could.
There will always be problems when players serve different masters. How would you like to be Mets coach-turned-Dominican manager Manny Acta once Pedro Martinez gets to 100 pitches in a tie game? Acta's heart might belong to the Island, but his butt belongs to the Wilpons. And imagine what George Steinbrenner will do if a base runner from the Netherlands bends Derek Jeter's knee backwards breaking up a double play. Just THINK of the statement that will blaze from Howard Rubenstein's desk.
If you love baseball, if you're the sort of fan who argues that Charlie Lau knew more about hitting than Ted Williams and that the split-fingered fastball wasn't "invented" by anybody, then you need to see what it looks like when Floridians and Californians are in the minority. Revel in the glorious racket of Tokyo Dome fans, marvel as the Puerto Ricans, Panamanians and Venezuelans round out the Latin American legacy.
The Italian team? If they ever get any Italians, we'll let you know. Mike Piazza's the pride of Norristown, Pa., but he is no more an Italian catcher than Rudy Giuliani was an Italian politician. At least manager Matt Galante is from Brooklyn, and he alone might make that team New York's darling. But whatever brand of game they play in Palermo, this won't be it.
Forgive the shortcomings of the first tournament and beg Bud Selig to punish stingy owners who don't want their players to trade team pennants for national flags. Bringing the best players in the game around the world can only enhance it.
And if they let the Cubans come, remember to keep the security fences short and the barbed-wire dull. You never know which player is going to be eating up innings in the Bronx next October.
The Score hears ...
Gordon to the Garden is dream of a lifetime
Bulls shooting guard Ben Gordon grew up in Mount Vernon, and his hoop dreams were no different than any other young basketball hopeful in the area:
To play for the Knicks.
Asked if he ever thought about coming back to play for his hometown team, Gordon flashes a quick smile and speaks of an early urge to star on basketball's biggest stage.
"Oh yeah, you know I think that's every kid's dream when they're growing up in a big city: to play for the pro team there," Gordon tells The Score. "As a young guy, that definitely came to my mind a lot of times.
"I remember I used to always watch the Knicks play against the Bulls and for some reason it always seemed like MSG was like the best place to play basketball."
Gordon, who was the first rookie to win the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award last season, is no stranger to success at the Garden. He's probably had more highlights at the World's Most Famous Arena than the Knicks the past few years.
Gordon turned the Big East tournament, held at the Garden, into his personal playground while at UConn. He was named to the all-tournament team each of the three years he was in school and led the Huskies to the title in 2002 and 2004. He holds the tournament scoring record with 81 points over three games in 2004.
Last season on Martin Luther King Day against the Knicks, Gordon scored 13 fourth-quarter points, including a runner with 0.1 seconds left to give the Bulls the come-from-behind win at the Garden.
Gordon's success last year seemed to put him on the fast track to NBA stardom. But this season it seems he's made a wrong turn - his scoring is down and he hasn't dominated the fourth quarter like he did last year, when he reached double digits in the final frame 22 times.
He has expressed frustration with his role off the bench this season with the Bulls.
"Right now I'm trying to get to the level I was playing at last season when I should be at a level two times that," Gordon told Chicago reporters on Tuesday.
Is Gordon frustrated enough to consider a change of scenery - namely the arena at 4 Penn Plaza?
"I got drafted by Chicago and I want to stay here the rest of my career," Gordon says. "But you never know what happens in the future, it's just the nature of the league."
Sorry, what apology?
We have seen the awesome sight of ESPN splashing a story across multiple media, cross-promoting until the very airwaves tremble. When the Worldwide Leader wants to get the message out, just try to ignore it. We're pretty sure even Osama votes on the Espy's. Which is why we couldn't figure out how we missed something recently.
Last week in his column on the Web site, ESPN ombudsman George Solomon, venerated former sports editor of the Washington Post, wrote this: "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution expressed unhappiness with ESPN.com for not giving credit to the newspaper for a quote used in a story on Atlanta Falcons defensive back Bryan Scott's injury. The New York Daily News had a similar complaint with ESPN The Magazine for not giving sufficient props for some information it previously published before the magazine's extensive steroid report appeared. While both ESPN organizations made statements of apology, the complaining parties involved did not seem completely satisfied, again showing the need for an improved method of corrections."
Couldn't agree more. But on West 33rd Street, all we could think was, "What apology?" Could we have missed it? Because surely the novelty of ESPN saying "We failed to give sufficient credit to someone else" would have stood out. There is hardly a newspaper in the country that hasn't seen a scoop appropriated by the beast. Maybe the apology was lost because they give us so much to read/watch/listen to. But perhaps we missed it because it was actually someone else who apologized, and ESPN just confirmed it.
In the name of the father
At about 10 o'clock last night, local time, a chartered DC-12 was scheduled to land at Augusto Cesar Sandino Airport in Managua, Nicaragua. Its cargo was to include 16,000 pounds of food and supplies, and one relieved son.
"It's just trying to close the chapter with the way things were supposed to be," Roberto Clemente Jr. said before boarding the plane. "It's going to be very emotional for me to complete this trip and get back home."
Thirty-three years ago, Clemente's father and namesake perished in the waters off the coast of his native Puerto Rico, making a mercy mission for the earthquake-ravaged people of Nicaragua. Working withe Eliezer Rodriguez, a Bronx lawyer and founder of Project Club Clemente, a New York-based organization dedicated to honoring the memory of the first Latino Hall of Famer, Clemente Jr. sought to finally complete the delivery.
Rodriguez's initial plan was to recreate every detail of the original flight. He wanted to have the same type of aircraft (DC-7), the same 16,000 pounds of aid, the same scheduled departure time (4 a.m.). Rodriguez had not planned on replicating the equipment problems that ultimately doomed the elder Clemente's flight, but a mechanical malfunction necessitated a switch to the DC-12.
"If people want to continue to use Roberto Clemente's name as a symbol for humanitarianism, then we have a responsiblity to complete the mission that he died trying to accomplish," says Rodriguez, who took out a loan to cover the $57,000 it cost to lease the plane.
The so-called Flight for Humanity was originally scheduled for last New Year's Eve, before the tsunami struck Southeast Asia and the Clemente family decided to redirect the aid there. Clemente Jr., who lives in Manhattan and works in commercial real estate and has a show on WFAN, was uncertain about making this year's trip after he saw the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, but ultimately decided he needed to go ahead with it.
The holidays have always been a profoundly sad time for him. The plan is to ring in the New Year by helping needy people in Nicaragua, and honoring his father's long-held commitment to those in need.
"I am excited to give this some closure, and to just move forward," Clemente Jr. says.
Top 5: Odds to win first World Baseball Classic
Led by Met ace Pedro Martinez, the Dominican Republic is even money to win the first World Baseball Classic according to Bodog.com
1. Dominican Rep., 1-1
2. U.S.A, 6-5
3. Venezuela, 7-1
4. Japan, 9-1; Puerto Rico, 9-1
5. Taiwan, 15-1
The names we all lost in 2005
Jan. 4 - Bud Poile, 80, NHL Hall of Famer.
Feb. 2 - Max Schmeling, 99, former heavyweight champ.
Feb. 13 - Nelson Briles, 61, former major league pitcher.
Feb. 13 - Dick Weber, 75, three-time PBA bowler of the year.
Feb. 20 - Jimmy Young, 56, former heavyweight boxer.
Feb. 22 - Reggie Roby, 43, former Dolphins Pro Bowl punter.
March 9 - Glenn Davis, 80, 1946 Heisman Trophy winner.
March 16 - Dick Radatz, 67, former major league pitcher.
Apirl 18 - Sam Mills, 45, former NFL linebacker.
April 26 - Johnny Sample, 67, former Jets defensive back.
June 1 - George Mikan, 80, NBA Hall of Fame center.
July 4 - Hank Stram, 82, Hall of Fame NFL coach.
July 13 - Mickey Owen, 89, former Brooklyn Dodgers catcher.
Aug. 8 - Gene Mauch, 79, former major league manager.
Aug. 11 - Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe, 103, former Negro League star.
Sept. 8 - Stanley Dancer, 78, record-setting harness driver.
Sept. 11 - Chris Schenkel, 82, former sportscaster.
Sept. 17 - Donn Clendenon, 70, former Mets first baseman.
Sept. 25 - George Archer, 65, 1969 Masters champ.
Oct. 15 - Jason Collier, 28, Atlanta Hawks center.
Oct. 25 - Wellington Mara, 89, Giants co-owner.
Oct. 30 - Al Lopez, 97, Hall of Fame catcher and manager.
Nov. 10 - Steve Courson, 50, former Steelers offensive lineman.
Nov. 15 - Robert Tisch, 79, Giants co-owner.
Nov. 25 - George Best, 59, international soccer star.
Nov. 29 - Vic Power, 78, former major league first baseman.
Dec. 7 - Bud Carson, 75, former NFL coach.
Dec. 21 - Elrod Hendricks, 64, former major league catcher.
Say What?
"I flipped on my medications and didn't realize what I was doing."
Ex-Met and Yankee reliever Jeff Reardon to police after being arrested for allegedly holding up a jewelry store on Monday in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
What's up
TODAY FOOTBALL: It's a new year, and high time to put the past behind us and make a fresh start. There's still one more Jets game, however, so Herm Edwards and company will have to wait until later in the afternoon for that, after taking their last gasps of the season against Buffalo. 1 p.m., Ch. 2
MONDAY BASKETBALL: On the subject of new beginnings, perhaps Stephon Marbury and Larry Brown can find some common ground this year - perhaps by tomorrow, with sharp-shooting Shawn Marion and the Suns in town. 7:30 p.m., MSG
WEDNESDAY COLLEGE BASKETBALL: St. John's plays its first Big East conference game at Seton Hall. 7 p.m., MSG
FRIDAY BASKETBALL: After a week-long break, the Nets tip off against the Magic in New Jersey. Here's hoping their recent hot streak hasn't cooled off by then. 7:30 p.m., YES
SATURDAY HOCKEY: The Rangers, Islanders and Devils are all in action, starting with a Blueshirts afternoon game. Rangers (vs. Florida): 1 p.m., MSG; Islanders (vs. Carolina): 7 p.m., FSNY; Devils (at Buffalo): 7:30 p.m., MSG
Originally published on December 31, 2005
The U.S. is in for 'World' of trouble
By T.J. QUINN
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
http://www.nydailynews.com/images/editors/header_thescore.jpg
So the Italian team is only slightly more Italian than the Topeka "Olive Garden."
So the feds don't want the Cubans to play here (don't they remember that's how we got some of the best Cubans in the first place?).
So Alex Rodriguez, the greatest player in the world, and Hideki Matsui will be playing three innings a day in Tampa instead of representing their countries.
Those are all problems.
But when you see the United States team knocked on its big behind by the Dominicans or even the Chinese this March, you'll see why the World Baseball Classic will be the best thing to happen to the game since the wooden bat.
It might not be a great thing for the major leagues, because anything that distracts a paid player from his day job diminishes his contribution. But our little game has grown up and it's time to take note. Baseball isn't just ours and it hasn't been for a long time. This March you will see how mind-bendingly deep the Japanese team is, how much talent there is in Chinese-Taipei and in Korea. You will also see a Dominican lineup that includes Albert Pujols, Vladimir Guerrero, Miguel Tejada, Manny Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano and David Ortiz. If A-Rod changes his mind and plays for the old country, one of those guys will have to be the No. 7 hitter. And they'll all want to show they play for the greatest baseball factory in the world.
With all its obvious problems, the inaugural WBC will give doubters plenty of ammunition, but a World Cup-style tournament will glorify the game the way the Olympics and our two-country "World Series" never could.
There will always be problems when players serve different masters. How would you like to be Mets coach-turned-Dominican manager Manny Acta once Pedro Martinez gets to 100 pitches in a tie game? Acta's heart might belong to the Island, but his butt belongs to the Wilpons. And imagine what George Steinbrenner will do if a base runner from the Netherlands bends Derek Jeter's knee backwards breaking up a double play. Just THINK of the statement that will blaze from Howard Rubenstein's desk.
If you love baseball, if you're the sort of fan who argues that Charlie Lau knew more about hitting than Ted Williams and that the split-fingered fastball wasn't "invented" by anybody, then you need to see what it looks like when Floridians and Californians are in the minority. Revel in the glorious racket of Tokyo Dome fans, marvel as the Puerto Ricans, Panamanians and Venezuelans round out the Latin American legacy.
The Italian team? If they ever get any Italians, we'll let you know. Mike Piazza's the pride of Norristown, Pa., but he is no more an Italian catcher than Rudy Giuliani was an Italian politician. At least manager Matt Galante is from Brooklyn, and he alone might make that team New York's darling. But whatever brand of game they play in Palermo, this won't be it.
Forgive the shortcomings of the first tournament and beg Bud Selig to punish stingy owners who don't want their players to trade team pennants for national flags. Bringing the best players in the game around the world can only enhance it.
And if they let the Cubans come, remember to keep the security fences short and the barbed-wire dull. You never know which player is going to be eating up innings in the Bronx next October.
The Score hears ...
Gordon to the Garden is dream of a lifetime
Bulls shooting guard Ben Gordon grew up in Mount Vernon, and his hoop dreams were no different than any other young basketball hopeful in the area:
To play for the Knicks.
Asked if he ever thought about coming back to play for his hometown team, Gordon flashes a quick smile and speaks of an early urge to star on basketball's biggest stage.
"Oh yeah, you know I think that's every kid's dream when they're growing up in a big city: to play for the pro team there," Gordon tells The Score. "As a young guy, that definitely came to my mind a lot of times.
"I remember I used to always watch the Knicks play against the Bulls and for some reason it always seemed like MSG was like the best place to play basketball."
Gordon, who was the first rookie to win the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award last season, is no stranger to success at the Garden. He's probably had more highlights at the World's Most Famous Arena than the Knicks the past few years.
Gordon turned the Big East tournament, held at the Garden, into his personal playground while at UConn. He was named to the all-tournament team each of the three years he was in school and led the Huskies to the title in 2002 and 2004. He holds the tournament scoring record with 81 points over three games in 2004.
Last season on Martin Luther King Day against the Knicks, Gordon scored 13 fourth-quarter points, including a runner with 0.1 seconds left to give the Bulls the come-from-behind win at the Garden.
Gordon's success last year seemed to put him on the fast track to NBA stardom. But this season it seems he's made a wrong turn - his scoring is down and he hasn't dominated the fourth quarter like he did last year, when he reached double digits in the final frame 22 times.
He has expressed frustration with his role off the bench this season with the Bulls.
"Right now I'm trying to get to the level I was playing at last season when I should be at a level two times that," Gordon told Chicago reporters on Tuesday.
Is Gordon frustrated enough to consider a change of scenery - namely the arena at 4 Penn Plaza?
"I got drafted by Chicago and I want to stay here the rest of my career," Gordon says. "But you never know what happens in the future, it's just the nature of the league."
Sorry, what apology?
We have seen the awesome sight of ESPN splashing a story across multiple media, cross-promoting until the very airwaves tremble. When the Worldwide Leader wants to get the message out, just try to ignore it. We're pretty sure even Osama votes on the Espy's. Which is why we couldn't figure out how we missed something recently.
Last week in his column on the Web site, ESPN ombudsman George Solomon, venerated former sports editor of the Washington Post, wrote this: "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution expressed unhappiness with ESPN.com for not giving credit to the newspaper for a quote used in a story on Atlanta Falcons defensive back Bryan Scott's injury. The New York Daily News had a similar complaint with ESPN The Magazine for not giving sufficient props for some information it previously published before the magazine's extensive steroid report appeared. While both ESPN organizations made statements of apology, the complaining parties involved did not seem completely satisfied, again showing the need for an improved method of corrections."
Couldn't agree more. But on West 33rd Street, all we could think was, "What apology?" Could we have missed it? Because surely the novelty of ESPN saying "We failed to give sufficient credit to someone else" would have stood out. There is hardly a newspaper in the country that hasn't seen a scoop appropriated by the beast. Maybe the apology was lost because they give us so much to read/watch/listen to. But perhaps we missed it because it was actually someone else who apologized, and ESPN just confirmed it.
In the name of the father
At about 10 o'clock last night, local time, a chartered DC-12 was scheduled to land at Augusto Cesar Sandino Airport in Managua, Nicaragua. Its cargo was to include 16,000 pounds of food and supplies, and one relieved son.
"It's just trying to close the chapter with the way things were supposed to be," Roberto Clemente Jr. said before boarding the plane. "It's going to be very emotional for me to complete this trip and get back home."
Thirty-three years ago, Clemente's father and namesake perished in the waters off the coast of his native Puerto Rico, making a mercy mission for the earthquake-ravaged people of Nicaragua. Working withe Eliezer Rodriguez, a Bronx lawyer and founder of Project Club Clemente, a New York-based organization dedicated to honoring the memory of the first Latino Hall of Famer, Clemente Jr. sought to finally complete the delivery.
Rodriguez's initial plan was to recreate every detail of the original flight. He wanted to have the same type of aircraft (DC-7), the same 16,000 pounds of aid, the same scheduled departure time (4 a.m.). Rodriguez had not planned on replicating the equipment problems that ultimately doomed the elder Clemente's flight, but a mechanical malfunction necessitated a switch to the DC-12.
"If people want to continue to use Roberto Clemente's name as a symbol for humanitarianism, then we have a responsiblity to complete the mission that he died trying to accomplish," says Rodriguez, who took out a loan to cover the $57,000 it cost to lease the plane.
The so-called Flight for Humanity was originally scheduled for last New Year's Eve, before the tsunami struck Southeast Asia and the Clemente family decided to redirect the aid there. Clemente Jr., who lives in Manhattan and works in commercial real estate and has a show on WFAN, was uncertain about making this year's trip after he saw the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, but ultimately decided he needed to go ahead with it.
The holidays have always been a profoundly sad time for him. The plan is to ring in the New Year by helping needy people in Nicaragua, and honoring his father's long-held commitment to those in need.
"I am excited to give this some closure, and to just move forward," Clemente Jr. says.
Top 5: Odds to win first World Baseball Classic
Led by Met ace Pedro Martinez, the Dominican Republic is even money to win the first World Baseball Classic according to Bodog.com
1. Dominican Rep., 1-1
2. U.S.A, 6-5
3. Venezuela, 7-1
4. Japan, 9-1; Puerto Rico, 9-1
5. Taiwan, 15-1
The names we all lost in 2005
Jan. 4 - Bud Poile, 80, NHL Hall of Famer.
Feb. 2 - Max Schmeling, 99, former heavyweight champ.
Feb. 13 - Nelson Briles, 61, former major league pitcher.
Feb. 13 - Dick Weber, 75, three-time PBA bowler of the year.
Feb. 20 - Jimmy Young, 56, former heavyweight boxer.
Feb. 22 - Reggie Roby, 43, former Dolphins Pro Bowl punter.
March 9 - Glenn Davis, 80, 1946 Heisman Trophy winner.
March 16 - Dick Radatz, 67, former major league pitcher.
Apirl 18 - Sam Mills, 45, former NFL linebacker.
April 26 - Johnny Sample, 67, former Jets defensive back.
June 1 - George Mikan, 80, NBA Hall of Fame center.
July 4 - Hank Stram, 82, Hall of Fame NFL coach.
July 13 - Mickey Owen, 89, former Brooklyn Dodgers catcher.
Aug. 8 - Gene Mauch, 79, former major league manager.
Aug. 11 - Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe, 103, former Negro League star.
Sept. 8 - Stanley Dancer, 78, record-setting harness driver.
Sept. 11 - Chris Schenkel, 82, former sportscaster.
Sept. 17 - Donn Clendenon, 70, former Mets first baseman.
Sept. 25 - George Archer, 65, 1969 Masters champ.
Oct. 15 - Jason Collier, 28, Atlanta Hawks center.
Oct. 25 - Wellington Mara, 89, Giants co-owner.
Oct. 30 - Al Lopez, 97, Hall of Fame catcher and manager.
Nov. 10 - Steve Courson, 50, former Steelers offensive lineman.
Nov. 15 - Robert Tisch, 79, Giants co-owner.
Nov. 25 - George Best, 59, international soccer star.
Nov. 29 - Vic Power, 78, former major league first baseman.
Dec. 7 - Bud Carson, 75, former NFL coach.
Dec. 21 - Elrod Hendricks, 64, former major league catcher.
Say What?
"I flipped on my medications and didn't realize what I was doing."
Ex-Met and Yankee reliever Jeff Reardon to police after being arrested for allegedly holding up a jewelry store on Monday in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
What's up
TODAY FOOTBALL: It's a new year, and high time to put the past behind us and make a fresh start. There's still one more Jets game, however, so Herm Edwards and company will have to wait until later in the afternoon for that, after taking their last gasps of the season against Buffalo. 1 p.m., Ch. 2
MONDAY BASKETBALL: On the subject of new beginnings, perhaps Stephon Marbury and Larry Brown can find some common ground this year - perhaps by tomorrow, with sharp-shooting Shawn Marion and the Suns in town. 7:30 p.m., MSG
WEDNESDAY COLLEGE BASKETBALL: St. John's plays its first Big East conference game at Seton Hall. 7 p.m., MSG
FRIDAY BASKETBALL: After a week-long break, the Nets tip off against the Magic in New Jersey. Here's hoping their recent hot streak hasn't cooled off by then. 7:30 p.m., YES
SATURDAY HOCKEY: The Rangers, Islanders and Devils are all in action, starting with a Blueshirts afternoon game. Rangers (vs. Florida): 1 p.m., MSG; Islanders (vs. Carolina): 7 p.m., FSNY; Devils (at Buffalo): 7:30 p.m., MSG
Originally published on December 31, 2005