ARTIFICIAL TURF SPORTS ESSAYS ( For archived essays, scroll down  to the "Classic Essays" pages).  The viewpoints expressed here do not necessarily reflect the opinions of KNUS or Salem Media...but they should.

 

 

THE UCONN MACHINE…By Bill Rogan (2-7-10)
I’ll admit, I’m not a big fan of women’s basketball. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those “women shouldn’t play sports” guys. Not at all. They should play but I choose not to watch it, that’s all. There is enough basketball out there and I’d rather watch the men play as opposed to watching an inferior women’s game.

However, there is a remarkable story currently taking place in women’s basketball. That is the Connecticut women’s team that today won their 70^th game in a row, tying their own record for the longest winning streak in women’s basketball. Whether or not you like women’s basketball or basketball in general, you have to appreciate and admire the greatness of the UConn women’s team.

Which team will finally knock off the Husky women or is it the Lady Huskies? Anyway, it will be compelling to see how far they can actually take this streak.

The men’s record of consecutive wins is 88 held by John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins. I don’t it is fair to compare the UConn women’s streak with the UCLA men’s streak because UCLA faced more difficult competition during their winning streak. Still, anytime a team wins 70 in a row, no matter the sport or gender it is rather impressive.

An interesting side note to the UCLA winning streak is that is was broken by Notre Dame. The longest football winning streak was the 47 game winning streak by Oklahoma , broken up by Notre Dame.

The UConn women’s team will try to set the women’s hoop record with their next game against…Notre Dame.
(Note: UConn defeated the Irish 59-44...and the streak goes on…)


 

A MOST DIFFICULT JOB…By Bill Rogan (3-1-10)

The toughest job in sports journalism, without question, is a beat writer covering a Major League team.
There are no off days and from mid-February through October these guys pound out story after story, day after day.
They have to deal with hundreds of personalities (good and bad or both), not just from the team they cover but the opposing teams as well. They deal with deadlines, day games, night games, doubleheaders, odd travel schedules and all sorts of inconveniences like a steady diet of press box food and cranky media relations people. If they get stuck with a bad and boring team to cover it makes for a long season. Real long.
What about the announcers? They cover the team every day. True. But radio broadcasters don't have to fill space in a newspaper. Basically, the prep work for a radio/TV announcer comes before the game. Once the game ends it's "See ya tomorrow!" The beat writer has to go into the clubhouses, grab quotes then work on the game story that he's been writing and re-writing during the game.
I always feel bad when a writer, in a 6-1 game heading into the last inning or so, has his story pretty much written. A routine game to write about, get a few quotes to spice it up and it's a relatively easy night. Then the trailing team rallies to tie it and the game goes extra innings. The first story is scrapped. The deadline is approaching. Everything changes. The broadcasters just think, "Damn, extra innings. I gotta stay a little while longer."
Baseball writers don't only write about the game either. They do feature stories, opinion pieces and whatever else the sports editor throws at them.
When do baseball writers sleep? I don't know. How much time do they spend with their families? Not much.
Would you like to be a baseball beat writer? I wouldn't. Radio announcer, yes indeed, sign me up in a heartbeat.
Have I convinced you that a baseball beat writer has the toughest job in sports journalism? If so, the next time you see a baseball beat writer schlubbing about, go up to him and give him a hug. They need it. And then they'll probably write about it.

 

 

 

PAY THE MAN…By Bill Rogan (2-11-10)
Now batting for the Dodgers, shortstop, Derek Jeter.
What the f***?
How bad would that sound to Yankees fans? Even worse, now batting for the Red Sox, shortstop Derek Jeter.
Holy crap that would make me vomit and swear off baseball forever.
The worst would be if Jeter ended up with the Mets but that won't happen since the Mets have no money (thanks Bernie Madoff!) and their brain trust (Mets brain trust? Now THAT'S funny!) probably would think bringing back Rey Ordonez would present a better option than Jeter.
Why do I bring this up?
Well, as Jeter heads into spring training, he is in the final year of a 10-year $189-million dollar contract. He will make only $21-million this season, plus another winning World Series share. And then? Then he's a free-agent.
While I can't foresee Jeter playing for anyone other than the Yankees, money does talk. Plus, Jeter is getting married to Minka Kelly soon and we all know that women like to spend money. A lot of money. (Note to Jeets: Prenup my man, prenup!)
With Jeter starting a family he's going to need to increase his income. He'll have extra responsibilities and more mouths to feed. Not to mention that this could be his final contract as a player. He has to think about his retirement income, kids down the line, taking care of his parents, long-term health care worries (nursing homes ain't cheap) and all sorts of unexpected financial issues.
Basically, I'm appealing to the Yankees on Jeter's behalf. Don't let the greatest player of this generation go elsewhere. He must retire as a Yankee before sliding into the manager's chair. Don't pinch pennies when it comes to Jeter. You gave A-Rod $30-million a year. I would venture to say that Jeter is three-times more valuble to the Yankees than A-Rod who had one decent post-season for the Yankees. So, by my calculations, Jeter is worth $90 million per season. Throw in some incentive clauses, that he will of course reach, the deal should come out to $100-million per season. Since he is still in great shape and doesn't show any signs of slowing down, give him a 5-year, $450-million dollar contract with the ability to reach $500-million plus with incentives.
I think that is more than fair on the Yankees part and I truly believe that Jeter, after carefully mulling this proposition over, would take all of 20-seconds to sign. The aftermath? Jeter remains a Yankee, he'll win a few more championships, enter the Hall of Fame wearing a Yankee cap, might become the all-time hits leader and everybody is happy. Problem sovled.
It's fun to spend someone else's money isn't it?

 

 

 

A BRUTAL WAY TO MAKE A LIVING…By Bill Rogan 1-17-10
When I watch major league baseball, I admit, I’m envious. I would have love to have played in the major leagues. Making millions of dollars to do so would only be icing on the cake.
The same with the NBA. How great would it be to play basketball for a living and get paid a fortune?
Sure, a pro athlete’s career has a short shelf life, but many athletes make more in one year than most people make in a lifetime. So, I’ll take the shorter career playing sports in exchange for the huge payout.
You may have noticed that I didn’t mention football. While playing in the major leagues or NBA would be utopia, I wouldn’t want to play in the NFL. I don’t envy NFL players. As a matter of fact, I pity them.
These guys are wrecking their bodies every week for our entertainment and enjoyment. While I thank them for that, I don’t envy their post-career lives.
I’ve met and have known of many former NFL players who are hobbling around in constant pain. Some have neck pain, back pain, hip pain, leg pain, shoulder pain or all of the above. The worst though is related to the brain. So many players have suffered head trauma during their careers and post-concussion syndrome is a real and frightening part of life after the NFL. In boxing it is called pugilistic dementia or punch drunk. There are plenty of former NFL’ers who are basically punch drunk and the league doesn’t seem too concerned. The NFL only talks a good game when light is shed on the problem.
Playing in the NFL is a brutal way to make a living, a living I would want no part of. Unless I was a punter.

 

 

 

PASSED OVER…By Bill Rogan (1-9-10)
The Rockies have hired a new radio broadcaster. I was dismayed to learn it wasn’t Dan Karcher the long-time voice of the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, the AAA affiliate of the Rockies.
To me, Karcher was the no-brainer choice to succeed the splenetic Jeff Kingery in the Rockies booth. Here’s a guy who has called Sky Sox games for 20-years and has broadcast well more than 3,000 minor league games in close to 25-years of baseball play-by-play.
The first time I heard Karcher announce a game was about a decade ago. My first reaction was, “Wow, this guy is good. Real good.” My second reaction was, “Why isn’t he in a big league booth?”
I would venture to say that those of you who have heard Karcher broadcast baseball are nodding your head in agreement.
The guy the Rockies hired this past week is Jerry Schemmel, the veteran Nuggets announcer. He has one season of minor league baseball under his belt.
Schemmel may very well do a great job with the Rockies. However, broadcasting baseball is a very different animal than broadcasting basketball or any other sport. I know that first hand having spent five years broadcasting minor league baseball myself.
I'm not saying he can't do the job but there is nothing like listening to a seasoned baseball broadcaster, like Karcher, painting an accurate word picture of the action while filling in the gaps with anecdotes, personality, humor and overall geniality. I don't know if Jerry brings all that. To be honest, just about any decent broadcaster can announce basketball. Baseball? Well, there are a lot of very good announcers who are, or were, overmatched calling a baseball game and holding up through a very long season.
Karcher would be perfect in the Rockies booth and it’s a shame KOA radio and the Rockies don‘t realize that. He has seen just about every Rockies player come through the system. He’s paid his dues and would bring an incredible frame of reference to each broadcast. He is everything you want in a baseball announcer.
Part of Karcher’s problem might be that he’s not a self-promoter. Shoot, I couldn't even find a picture of him on-line to put with this essay. He just churns out quality broadcasts game after game after game and never places himself above the game or broadcast like a John Sterling. 
Do the Rockies and KOA even know Karcher exists? If I was in a position of power he would on the Rockies broadcast crew. If there was no room, I’d make room. That’s how good he is.
Please don’t mistake this as an anti-Jerry Schemmel rant. It’s not. I truly hope he does great in the Rockies booth. This is more a pro-Karcher essay. Since KOA and the Rockies whiffed on Dan Karcher, again, my wish is that some major league team finally gives him a shot. He deserves it and the listeners deserve it.　 

 

IMAGE IS EVERYTHING…By Bill Rogan (1-3-10)
The NBA has an image problem. Commissioner David Stern may not agree but most everyone else would say that to be the case.
The NBA’s poor image took another hit this week when word leaked that star Washington Guard Gilbert Arenas pulled a gun on little known teammate Javaris Crittenton in the locker room before a game. Crittenton did what any self-respecting NBA player would do. He pulled a gun at Arenas. No shots were fired but the way the Wizards shoot they probably would have missed each other anyway. And imagine, Arenas is known as one of the good guys in the NBA!
The dispute allegedly began over a poker game. On a charter flight, Crittenton apparently won $25,000 from Arenas on December 19th. The story goes that Arenas had no intention of paying his debt to Crittenton and tried to intimidate his teammate by drawing a gun on him two days later in the locker room. Hey, it’s not easy to pay off a 25-grand gambling debt when you are only in the second year of a six-year, 111-million dollar contract.
The Wizards tried to keep the story in-house but eventually it leaked to the media. The NBA and the police are investigating. The NBA has a rule that firearms are banned from the locker room. Better to keep gunplay outside of NBA venues. The police have a general rule that you can’t point guns at other people’s faces.
How this pans out is anybody’s guess. Since they are NBA players I’m guessing they’ll get off easy like most pro athletes not named Plaxico Burress. A slap on the wrist is likely since the laws in this country are quite soft.
David Stern will probably hand out suspensions to Arenas and Crittenton. Hopefully lengthy suspensions. But if Stern really wants to send a message he will kick them out of the league for good. That might get the attention of the many other gun loving sociopaths that inhabit NBA rosters.
Abe Pollin is probably spinning in his grave about now. Pollin, the longtime owner of the Wizards, died in November. He changed the name of his basketball team to Wizards more than a decade ago because he deemed the previous name of his franchise to be too negative. While Wizards may be a good team nickname, the old name, Bullets, may be more appropriate.

  

GONE TOO SOON…By Bill Rogan (12-27-09)
Today marked the end of the Giants playing in Giants Stadium. It was their home for just 34 seasons.
I’ve seen an untold number of games in Giants Stadium and it was the best facility I’ve been in for football.
While I’m not nearly as nostalgic over Giants Stadium closing shop as I was Yankee Stadium ending it’s 85-year run, I am somewhat saddened. Mostly for the long-time fans who won’t be able to afford the trip across the parking lot to the new gargantuan, luxury boxed filled stadium. Not only will the tickets be more expensive but for the right to buy those tickets the Giants management is forcing current season ticket holders to purchase personal seat licenses. These PSL’s will help pay for the new stadium that nobody was asking for except the owners of the Giants and Jets who will share the new place. Basically, ticket holders were told, if you can’t buy PSL’s, too bad. Take it or leave it.
My feeling has always been, if owners want a new stadium, fine, build it. But don’t stick your hands in the taxpayers pockets to do so. I’m guessing a lot of the people who help build the new stadium through their tax dollars will never have the opportunity to even go to a game there.
Unfortunately, no public officials questioned why a new stadium was needed and why a perfectly good stadium will be left to face the wrecking ball.
It would have been nice to have seen a politician stand up to this blatant rip-off of his constituents. But said politician probably has a deal in place to have free season tickets on the 50-yard line of the new building.
This would have been an appropriate conversation.
Giants owner John Mara: “Sir, we need a new stadium.”
New Jersey Governor: “Why?”
Mara: “We need to maximize profits.”
NJ Governor: “What’s wrong with the current stadium?”
Mara: “Um, nothing.”
NJ Governor: “How are you going to pay for this new stadium?”
Mara: “Taxpayer dollars and personal seat licenses. And of course we’ll jack up the price of everything from tickets, to concessions and parking.”
NJ Governor: “You’ll get nothing from us. Now get out and if you don’t like it, move.”
Of course that conversation never took place and why I feel sad to see loyal Giants ticket holders cast aside like a day old newspaper.
So to the owners of the Giants and Jets, I have two words for you and they aren’t Merry Christmas.
To Giants Stadium? Good bye old friend. You, and the people who faithfully filled the seats each week, deserve better

 

 

THE BEST BARGAIN IN SPORTS TODAY…By Bill Rogan (12-15-09)
“It’s too expensive to go to games.”
“Parking is a rip-off.”
“The players make too much money.”
“The food prices are outrageous.”
People complain to me all the time about the expense associated with attending a professional or major collegiate sporting event. I agree, the cost of going to a professional sporting event can be prohibitive for many people. I can’t blame the teams for charging high prices. After all, they have to pay their millionaire employees somehow.
There is an alternative though. High school athletics.
High school sports is fan friendly. The cost of a football or basketball ticket is so small that you all you have to do is skip one happy meal and you have enough to pay admission. Some high school sports don’t even charge admission. When you are at a high school event, you won’t be stuck in the upper deck miles away from the action.
At a professional event, the players are jaded. They are used to playing in front of huge crowds and quite frankly, pro athletes get tired of fans hounding them for autographs and pictures. For many pro athletes, fans are a nuisance.
Kids who participate in high school sports are more than thrilled when people come to see them play. I remember a few years ago watching a high school baseball game. A kid made difficult catch near the third base railing. At the end of the inning, as he was coming off the field, I yelled, “Nice catch!” The kid smiled and said, “Thanks,” back to me. I don’t know if the third baseman would have even heard me or responded had I yelled that at a major league game.
At professional sporting events you sometimes are at the mercy of those around you. While most of the time people are civil, there is the chance you will get stuck sitting near a loudmouth drunk. There are no drunks at high school games because alcohol isn’t sold at those events. If someone shows up drunk, they will be asked to leave.
While I love sports on all levels, professional sports or big time college athletics can be a headache. The cost, the traffic, the late starting times because of TV and the general fan unruliness at times can make it a less than pleasant experience.
Go to a high school game. It’s certainly affordable. The players are truly playing for the love of the game. The kid sinking the winning shot or getting the winning hit could even live in your neighborhood. Some of the high school athletes you witness might even go on to play in college or the pros. You could say, “I remember that kid back in the day.” High school athletes will be glad you attended. And so will you. Make it a point to support high school athletics. The best bargain in sports today.

 

 

TIGER...By Bill Rogan (12-13-09)
Jack Nicklaus said it best when asked to weigh in on the Tiger Woods situation. The Golden Bear said, "It's none of my business."
He was right, it is none of our business.
The reason I bring this up is because everyone seems eager to share their opinions, including PGA golfers Ben Crane and Charles Wrenn who ripped Tiger to shreds. For some it is easier to criticize Woods than to beat him on the golf course. Some people are taking great pleasure in seeing the best golfer in the world humiliated, going from icon to punchline.
We all know that Tigers messed up and we have to feel for his wife and family. Tiger is going to have to deal with the consequences of his actions.
Every day a new skanky whore seems to come forward with allegations of being with Tiger. The salacious details are not only sickening but tiresome. It would be nice if this story went away just like Tiger has. He's gone underground and will take time off from golf which is probably one of the few smart things he's done lately.
Tiger isn't the person he's been portrayed to be and he's trying to get his life back in order. I wish him well but guess what? I don't care.
I feel the same as Jack Nicklaus. It's none of my business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SO, IT’S OK TO BEAT WOMEN?...By Bill Rogan (8-20-09)

Michael Vick, celebrated dog torturer, has a job with the Eagles and a multi-million dollar contract. While I was hoping no team would sign Vick, I realize the NFL and professional sports in general, is all about winning. There will always be some morally bankrupt team that will sign a miscreant if they think it will help them win. If Charles Manson got out of prison and could run a 4.3 forty or throw a ball 95-miles per hour, he would get signed by some professional team.

But while many people are outraged at the Eagles bringing Vick aboard people don’t seem to mind cheering for the many athletes who abuse women.

Domestic violence among NFL players is alarmingly high. It just isn’t an isolated incident or two. It is an epidemic. While the NFL season is basically five months out of the year, to many players it’s always open season on battering women.
According to Doctor Richard Lapchick, a professor at the University of Central Florida , there are approximately 100 cases per year of domestic violence acts by college and professional athletes. The study also claimed that many assaults against women go unreported for various reasons.
Speaking of Central Florida , that is the school that Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall attended. Marshall was just acquitted on battery charges against his girlfriend in Atlanta. Maybe he was innocent. But anyone with half a brain would realize from his checkered past that he’s hardly an angel when it comes to dealing with females.

Commissioner Roger Goodell has been suspending players who have been convicted of domestic violence and that is a start. But the suspensions need to be longer and the public outcry against women abusers needs to be louder.

 

REMEMBERING “THE GERM”…By Bill Rogan (8-2-09)

Fans of every team experience wonderful moments that they’ll remember forever. They also experience low moments that they would like to forget.

There have been many painful moments in my life as a fan, most of those moments being heartbreaking losses. My philosophy has been there’s always another game or another season to look forward to.

The worst moment though that I’ve ever been through as a fan took place 30-years ago today. That was the day Yankees catcher and Captain Thurman Munson died in a plane crash in Ohio . He became a pilot so he could spend off days with his family.

Munson was one of my all-time favorite players. He was clutch, he was tough and he was everything you wanted out of your catcher.

My friends and I would call him “Thurm the Germ,” because he was poison to the other team.

In the decade of the 70’s, the two best catchers were, in order, Johnny Bench and Thurman Munson. Don’t even think Carlton Fisk. One of the reasons I always hated Fisk was because of his rivalry with Munson. Fisk is in the Hall of Fame, deservedly so, but mainly based on his longevity. Munson, who in my estimation was a Hall of Fame type catcher, didn’t have that longevity to build his stats.

Munson was the American League MVP in 1976 as he led the Yankees to their first World Series in 12 seasons. That summer, while attending some Yankees games in Baltimore , I saw Munson in the lobby of the Lord Baltimore Hotel. He signed a program and I shook his hand. That was the only personal contact I had with one of my baseball heroes.

I was sitting on a raft in a pool the day Munson died. It was a humid and overcast in New York and the Yanks had an off day. My Uncle Bobby walked up to the pool and told me that Thurman had died in a plane crash. Stunned, shocked and saddened doesn’t even begin to explain my emotions. I couldn’t eat for three days. It was as if a family member died.

My other baseball hero, Bobby Murcer, gave the eulogy at Munson’s funeral four days later. That night at Yankee Stadium, before a national TV audience, Murcer knocked in all 5 runs in an emotional 5-4 win over the Orioles. Murcer gave the bat to Munson’s wife Diana.

 

CORNELL AT COORS...By Bill Rogan (7-24-09)

So I’m sitting in the Coors Field press box before the Diamondbacks-Rockies game on a beautiful Wednesday afternoon in Denver .

I check my phone and see a text message. From Andy Cornell. It read, “Are you here? I’m outside with Brayden getting tickets with the peons.”

Could it be? Andy Cornell actually purchasing baseball tickets? Taking his son to a baseball game?

For years the only thing Andy discussed about baseball was how boring it was and how un-athletic the players were.

I’ve dragged him kicking and screaming to several Opening Days in a row at Coors Field. Of course he went for free with a media credential. “It’s not for the baseball,” Andy would say. “It’s for the free drinks and popcorn.”

But a strange thing has happened recently. I can’t point to a watershed moment but this is undeniable: Coach Cornell has become...are you sitting down...an avid baseball fan.

Avid doesn’t exactly mean knowledgeable but he’s getting there.

Just this past week, Cornell has initiated conversations with me about Mark Buehrle’s perfect game, witnessing baseball history with Todd Helton’s 500^th career double, the Yankees winning streak and his guy Dexter Fowler, the rookie whom Andy proclaimed on Opening Day this year was a “future Hall of Famer.” If Fowler does in fact become a Hall of Famer in 20 or so years we’ll never hear the end of it from Cornell.

How do I know Andy has baseball fever? Not only did I see him looking over a Rockies schedule to see which games he could attend, he even wants to come to see one of my over 35-baseball league games. I think he is secretly scouting the league because he wants to play in it in five years.

Irma Thumim, with the Rockies media relations department, sent me an e-mail saying “good job” in converting Andy into a baseball fan.

Well, I can’t take all the credit. The game is so great, so wonderful and so compelling that it was only a matter of time until even Andy, who spent most of his life wearing a football helmet, realized it.

So while I don’t think baseball will ever surpass football as Coach Cornell’s favorite sport, I’m glad baseball is now high on his list.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INIMITABLE…By Bill Rogan (4-14-09)
I’ll never forget the night of June 28, 1976. That evening my dad and I settled in to watch the Yankees take on the Tigers on television. We were anxious to get our first look at the Detroit pitcher they called “The Bird.”
As a Yankees fan, I was hoping they would beat Mark Fidrych.
A strange thing happened as I was watching the game. I actually started pulling for Fidrych. I had never done that for a pitcher opposing the Yankees, before or since. The Bird started out as a curiosity but the national TV broadcast made believers and fans out of me and the rest of America.
He simply put on a show. He manicured the mound. He talked to the ball. He waved to teammates who made a good play. He was like a five year old on cotton candy and soda. He was having the time of his life, mowing down the Yanks, the eventual American League Champions.
Fidrych beat the Yankees 5-1 that night before a packed house at old Tiger Stadium. Following the win, the crowd stayed in their seats and demanded a curtain call from Fidrych.
I'd never seen a pitcher like Fidrych. Ever. He was one of a kind and the love he had for the game was apparent, even to a 14-year old.
I saw Fidrych pitch twice that summer at Yankee Stadium. He won one and lost one I believe. The game he won was the first of a doubleheader. Following the game, many fans left. They were there to see Fidrych.
One thing I’ll never forget was watching Fidrych dance to the music over the P.A. system while he was warming up in the bullpen. Wonderfully eccentric, strange and bizarre and quite a pitcher too.
Unfortunately he never duplicated his wild rookie season. Maybe the 24 complete games at the age of 21 while winning 19 of them contributed to his arm problems the following season and beyond.
He won the American League Rookie of the Year Award and the hearts of millions of baseball fans across the country. He was an original for sure. Nobody like him before or since, a genuine character who will never be forgotten.
Mark Fidrych died Monday in an accident at his Massachusetts home. The Bird was just 54.

 

THE BASEBALL CARD CAPER...By Bill Rogan (4-12-09)
In 1973, I was a proud member of the Eldorado Elementary School Chorus in Spring Valley, New York. Ok, I don’t remember if I was a proud member. Looking back I wonder how I even was in the school chorus. I’m sure they made me do it since I was pretty shy back then and singing wasn’t my bag. Unlike now when I can belt out a tune with the best of them. Sure.
Anyway, I was in Mrs. Mayhew’s 5th grade class and she was the meanest teacher in the school. Time has not softened my view on Mrs. Mayhew. She was intimidating and I truly she believe hated kids. Especially me. These days teachers have to search students for guns, knives, and drugs. Back then Mrs. Mayhew was on a crusade to eliminate baseball cards from Eldorado Elementary school. That’s right, baseball cards. To her, they were the worst things in the world and she would confiscate them at every opportunity.
On many occasions, she would go into my coat pocket and take away my baseball cards. That is correct, she stole them from my coat pocket! She would rummage through the other kids pockets as well and she would pilfer our precious cards. Or she would take them out of our desks. Mrs. Mayhew was the baseball card Nazi.
One time she even pulled me off the school bus before it departed the parking lot and looked in my book bag. Yep, baseball cards. She took them. At recess, she would sneak up behind us and steal our cards. I half expected her to show up at my house, enter my bedroom and take away my cards. Mrs. Mayhew always took the cards and put them in bags in a big closet in our classroom. Then she would lock the door and our cards were gone forever.
Back to the school chorus. We had our big spring concert on a Friday night. Mom and Dad were there and probably my sister Mary. I can’t definitively recall if Mary was there or not, but she is irrelevant to the story. She’s still pretty much irrelevant. I say that because I hope she reads this story and gets irritated. That’s what brothers do.
The concert went off without a hitch. We were cheered and it actually felt pretty good. I can’t remember any of the songs we sung but it was a nice night. After the concert, I told my parents I had to go to my classroom to get a book. Which was true. Once in the darkened classroom, just for the heck of it, I decided to turn the knob on the closet door. A jolt of excitement ran through my chest when the door actually opened. In the darkness I could see the outline of bags. Four large bags of baseball cards!
The classroom was on the ground floor. I took the bags to the window and set them outside. Then I went back to my parents. I told them I had to go to the bathroom. I went back to the classroom, crawled out the window and hid the bags of cards in the nearby woods. I climbed back into the classroom, locked the window, locked the closet door, and then headed to the front of the school and my patient parents.
I forgot the book I was originally was supposed to get but neither Mom or Dad said anything about it. All night long I was praying it wouldn’t rain. I was also paranoid, waiting for Mrs. Mayhew to knock on the front door with the police demanding my arrest. Early the next morning, I rode my bike to Eldorado Elementary School and was able to recover two bags of cards. A return trip brought home the rest. I also had to sneak the cards into the house. My mom was a police officer so it wasn’t easy to get away with things.
Finally, the cards were safe and sound in my house. I had all my cards back and all my classmates cards too. I pulled it off, a true caper! Monday morning, as I entered Mrs. Mayhew’s class, I was sweating profusely. I knew that she knew what I had done. Nervous doesn’t begin to describe how I felt.
When Mrs. Mayhew went into the closet, I expected her to fly off the handle and immediately know it was me who stole the cards. Much to my surprise and relief, she never said anything about the missing cards. Ever. For the next week I was a wreck, but nothing ever happened. Mrs. Mayhew never brought up the missing cards although she still was on the lookout for any student possessing baseball cards.
So whatever became of the baseball cards in question? I still have them. They’re in my closet safe and sound and Mrs. Mayhew can’t do a thing about it. She’s dead.

 

THE COLOR MAN...By Bill Rogan 4-5-09
Sports fans are all color commentators. We sit at home or in the sports bar and discuss the game. The true color commentators, the ones who get paid, also chime in with their expertise. After watching sports for all these years, I've come to the conclusion that anyone can be a color commentator.
If you are interested in becoming the color commentator or "expert analyst" then keep reading.
If you are a baseball color commentator it is imperative to remind your audience that the pitcher "needs to throw strikes." Throwing in a few sagacious tidbits like "this would be a good time for a hit and run" or "Cook is nearing his pitch count" will make you sound as if you helped Tony LaRussa invent the game of baseball.
As a football color man you can dazzle your audience with insightful comments such as, "The Broncos need to stay away from turnovers and penalties." Drop-ins such as "special teams could be the difference" or "the defense needs to be physical" will have the audience hanging on your every word.
For basketball, cliches such as "The big man needs to stay out of foul trouble" or "the Nuggets need to have better shot selection" will prove your hoops expertise.
If you are a color man for college football or basketball, remember, never ever criticize the head coach. If a coach is behaving like a 4-year old on the sidelines, you can always go to "Coach is really into it. He's working the officials." If a coach is an NCAA cheat and a complete lowlife, it is still imperative to say, "Coach really loves his kids."
Even novice hockey commentators can sound like seasoned veterans with sayings such as, "You know Howie, when the Rangers put that sweater on, they feel pride in the organ-eye-zation, and we all know its not easy getting two points in the Bruins building." Show off your wisdom by saying, "they're really skating out there tonight" or "the power play is really clicking tonight" and you are on your way to becoming the next Peter McNab.
Remember, when in doubt, its always easy to rip on the officials. "You want the players to decide the game."
Finally, if you want to keep your job, throw bouquets to the owners, the coaches and the players. Remember, being critical bad, being a suck up good. Getting a paycheck better.
Now, as Crash Davis said in Bull Durham, time to work on your cliches. Boring? Yes, they're supposed to be.

 

 

AS THE BRONCOS TURN…By Bill Rogan (3-20-09)
Things have been very interesting and entertaining at the Broncos headquarters these days. Interesting and entertaining unless you are a Broncos fan.
The soap opera reads as follows…the owner fires a two time Super Bowl winning coach, a coach who won just one playoff game since those long ago championships. The coach formerly known as “The Mastermind” is let go in favor of boy wonder Josh McDaniels, all of 32-years old.
The Broncos defense was a horror show last season while the offense was productive. So what does the Boy Wonder head coach specialize in? Offense. Makes no sense does it?
Boy Wonder came from the Patriots, the most successful NFL franchise the past decade, led by a hoodie wearing coach devoid of personality, Bill Belichick. Boy Wonder tries to emulate Belichick and looks to ship out 25-year old Pro Bowl Quarterback Jay Cutler, thereby alienating a player The Mastermind thought was the one to lead the team back to the Super Bowl. Little Jay had his feelings hurt by being mentioned in trade talks. The crybaby QB wants to be traded and is probably being led astray by his agent, a fellow named Bus Cook, no stranger to ruining quarterback-team relationships. See McNair. See Favre. Cutler doesn’t trust Boy Wonder, who I should remind you is a Belichick disciple. Look at the hoodie wearing coach’s successful coaching tree. Romeo Crennel. Fired by the Browns. Eric Mangini? Fired by the Jets. Charlie Weis? On the hot seat at Notre Dame having won 10 games the past two seasons. What makes the owner think Boy Wonder will thrive when the other Patriots assistants haven’t?
In the middle of all this is the powerless General Manager, someone named Brian Xanders, who hails from the success laden Falcons, whose main function is to say, “Yes Mr. Bowlen. Yes sir coach McDaniels.”
The Broncos are a mess. The defense doesn’t scare anyone although the removal of Dre Bly is addition by subtraction. The offense may be led by a guy, Mr. Simms, who has thrown two passes in two years if the crybaby QB is sent packing. The new running back free agent acquisition, Mr. Buckhalter, has an injury history a mile long and was just accused by a drug dealer in Philadelphia that he was client.
The unproven head coach isn’t talking to the media, the owner who said he was in charge isn’t, the QB isn’t talking to the coach and The Mastermind is probably soaking it all in with a grin.
We’ll see how this interesting and entertaining soap opera pans out during the season, a season that has 4-12 written all over it.

THE COMEBACK!...By Bill Rogan (3-15-09)
I once asked my wife's grandfather, Fred, many years ago, if he missed playing baseball. Fred played for Fordham University, back when future Hall of Famer Frankie Frisch, "The Fordham Flash"  was one of his teammates. That was a long time ago. In his 90's and still mentally sharp at the time of our conversation, he told me, sadly, "Yes, every day."
I last played on a team 16-years ago. I too missed playing baseball. Softball doesn't do it for me.
The past three seasons I've played in a charity game in Colorado Springs. Those games were fun and got the competitive juices flowing again.
So, with the words of a 90-year old man still fresh in my memory, I decided to join an over 35-year old baseball league.
Now I'm on a team, the Stars, and we had our first scrimmage today.
I'm not sore, which is a positive. Although my elbow is saying, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Anyway, it was nice to run around and work up a sweat, knowing that I'll have a summer of fun playing baseball on Sunday afternoons in something called the NABA. I don't know what that even stands for but I'm guessing the B is for baseball.
One of the reasons I'm playing is because I don't want to be in my 90's wishing I could have played a few more seasons. I'm still in decent shape and this will give me an excuse to eat better, get in peak condition and run around like a kid again.
As for the scrimmage today, I went 0-3. I'm in mid-season form already.

 

 

THE GREEDY YANKEES…By Bill Rogan (3-8-09)
We’ve discussed, in the past, the outrageous ticket and concession prices the Yankees are charging in their new, 1.5 billion dollar ballpark. Actually, its not a ballpark. It’s an amusement park, an orgy of pleasures designed to take as much money out of the pockets of people who visit it as possible.
Somewhere along the line, the Yankees forgot that most of their fans aren’t multi-millionaires. Many of their fans have to pinch pennies to save up enough money to enjoy seeing their team play in person.
Guess what? The Yankees are having a tough time selling their premium tickets and luxury suites. They have been taking out full-page ads in the New York Times to drum up interest. The economy is likely a factor. Now I’m not the smartest man in the world but the fact that they are charging $500 to $2,500 per seat in the first nine rows near home plate could be a problem. Maybe people don’t want to spend $325 for a decent seat down the first and third base lines.
Ironically, the stadium that was built for corporate America to buy luxury boxes, still has several 600-thousand dollar suites available. Maybe companies don’t care to explain to their shareholders why they spent more than a half a million dollars for a luxury box at the new Yankee Stadium.
Fans have been taken for granted and taken advantage of for a long time. It would be nice to see the fans finally fight back and refuse to allow themselves to be kicked in the teeth.
My advice to pro sports fans everywhere is to take the money you were going to spend on going to games and instead stay home and watch the games from the comfort of your living room.

  

HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL...By Bill Rogan (2-27-09)
Baseball is back. At least spring training is. Now I'm waiting for Opening Day. And yes, I capitalize Opening Day because to baseball fans it is a holiday.
The term 'Hope Springs Eternal" was coined, I believe, with baseball fans in mind.
That said, here are my "Hopes" for the upcoming baseball season. Mind you, some of these hopes are realistic, some are completely and totally unrealistic. But I can hope nonetheless.
I hope Manny Ramirez has to go slumming for a team to play on for much less than the 2-year, 45-million dollar offer he rejected from the Dodgers.
I hope the Mets go 0-162, getting shut out in every game in the process.
If the Mets actually compete in the NL East, I hope they have another September meltdown like the previous two years. That's a lot of fun.
I hope the Red Sox have a dismal season and Big Papi ends up with 3 homers and 17 RBI's. Although those 3 homers and 17 RBI's would all probably come against the Yankees.
I hope the Rockies will try to compete this year instead of always looking to build to the future. Hey Rockies, its ok to win now. Plus when the future gets here they'll be shipping off established players to build for the future. Exhibit A: Matt Holliday.
I hope I can fall in love with the new Yankee Stadium like I did the old one many years ago.
I hope people have finally figured out how to properly say Kosuke Fukudome.
After 16 fruitless seasons, I hope the Pittsburgh Pirates have a winning campaign. See, I told you some things would be unrealistic.
I hope Bud Selig and Donald Fehr both decide to exit the game and go someplace where they'll never be heard from again, like Pitcairn Island.
I hope Aaron Cook becomes the Rockies first 20-game winner. For a season that is, not a career.
I hope the Phillies flop this year. Wait, they are in the Mets division. Go Phils!
I hope New York Post Columnist Phil Mushnick becomes Commissioner of Baseball.
The Red Sox win the pennant! I sure hope that doesn't happen.
I hope Andy Cornell attends a Rockies game other than Opening Day.
I hope Don Apodaca finally can afford to buy that Cleveland Indians pinky ring he so craves.
I hope Casey Bloyer gets his wish to see the Yankees win the World Series.
I hope Justin Adams gets his wish just to see the World Series...since the games are played past his bedtime.
Finally, I hope you all enjoy the upcoming season and see your hopes and dreams come true, in baseball and in life.

 

 

MANNY BEING GREEDY…By Bill Rogan (2-27-09)
As I’ve written in the past, I’m not one of those guys who screams and hollers that athletes make too much money.
The length of their careers is tenuous and they should get as much money as they can while they can. If someone is willing to pay it then they would be foolish not to take it. Some people squawk that they would play for the love of the game. No they wouldn’t. If you were a professional athlete you would be looking to rake in the cash too.
That brings me to Manny Ramirez and his agent Scott Boras.
On Thursday, Ramirez and Boras rejected the Dodgers latest contract offer of two years for 45-million dollars. The first year was for 25-million and the second was a player only option for 20-million. Since is seems nobody is interested in signing Ramirez for that kind of money, you would figure Ramirez and Boras would jump at the proposal. Nope, not good enough.
In this economic climate, I can’t see where Manny would get anything close to 45-million dollars over two years.
The Dodgers offer, considering the lack of suitors, was more than fair. It was overly generous. Again, its Manny’s right to get as much as he can. But where does a fair and reasonable request move into the blatantly greedy realm?
Ramirez will be 37 in May. Although he hasn’t shown a decline at the plate, you have to wonder when it will happen. He’s human. Unless he’s on the same fitness program as Barry Bonds, baseball history shows that players start to regress in their mid to late 30’s.
Ramirez is also a signing risk due to his mercurial nature. Or have people forgotten how he quit last season on the Red Sox and is normally disinterested in playing the outfield. He won’t be able to DH with the Dodgers.
If I ran the Dodgers, I would love to have Manny’s bat in the lineup. However, he’s a big-time headache. If he doesn’t want 45-million than let him find it somewhere else. Time for the Dodgers to turn the page and say goodbye to the greedy tandem of Ramirez and Boras.

 

BRAD VAN PELT...By Bill Rogan (2-20-09)
The 1970’s were a wasteland for New York Giants football. My dad would regale me with stories of the Giants teams of the 50’s and early 60’s. He would tell me about the great Frank Gifford, Sam Huff, Charlie Conerly, Alex Webster and the rest. Guess what? I didn’t care. Those standouts were before my time and the guys I rooted for with all my heart stunk. Well, most of them stunk except for two players.
One was Punter Dave Jennings. You know your team is bad when one of your favorite players is the punter. The other was Brad Van Pelt, whom I nicknamed Brad Van Belt because he would just lay people out. I also thought it was really cool that he was a linebacker but wore the number 10.
Van Pelt, a Michigan State product, was a bright spot for the Giants in a rather dim era. He played for the Giants from 1973 through ’83 and made the Pro-Bowl five times. I always felt bad he never had a chance to play on the good Giants teams shortly after.
I met Van Pelt a few years ago in the Colorado State locker room after a game. His son, Bradlee, was the Rams quarterback and played with the same reckless abandon that his dad did.
The elder Van Pelt was going around the locker room picking up discarded sweatbands, headbands and gloves. I asked him what he was doing. He said with a huge smile, “Shhhhhh, I’m stealing them for the kids. They love this stuff.”
I mentioned to him that I was a Giants fan and I appreciated his career. He thanked me and was very gracious. Sometimes you meet someone you admire and they disappoint you. Not the case with Brad Van Pelt.
So I was deeply saddened this past Tuesday when I learned of the passing of Van Pelt from an apparent heart attack. Another former NFL player gone way too soon.
Number 10 was just 57.


BASEBALL CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH…By Bill Rogan (2-10-09)
He’s a bum. He’s out for revenge. He’s slimy. He’s a jerk, an idiot and a lowlife. Maybe Jose Canseco is all of those things. One thing you can’t call him though is a liar.
Canseco’s first book, Juiced, which exposed baseball’s dirty secret on steroids and named names, was said to be full of lies written, poorly I might add, by a guy who had an agenda and who needed the money.
Of the players named in Canseco’s book, none sued him for slander. None. Sure threats were made to take legal action but no one followed through. Why is that?
Without that book, do you think baseball would have done anything about the massive steroid problem in the sport?
Baseball was dismissive of the book, basically telling people to consider the source. It was only when the book sparked the interest of congress that baseball realized they had to do something.
In Canseco’s second book, Vindicated, he claims he introduced Alex Rodriguez to steroids. Another smear campaign was made on Canseco. Again, Canseco haters said he needed the money and he had an axe to grind. A-Rod on steroids? Come on, that is absurd.
Well, we know better now don’t we? Canseco has also put Commissioner Bud Selig and players union big shots Donald Fehr in his crosshairs saying that they are, “the real criminals” for baseball’s steroid problems.
While Jose Canseco may not be the most sympathetic character in the world, he may be the person most responsible for cleaning up the game’s steroid mess. He may also be the most honest person of all in the steroid era of baseball.

A-ROD A ROYAL PAIN IN THE ASS…By Bill Rogan (2-8-09)
Alex Rodriguez, during Game 4 of the 2007 World Series between the Red Sox and Rockies, decided that would be a good time to announce that he was opting out of his mega-contract with the Yankees. Never mind it was the World Series, an event he has never participated in. It was all about A-Rod then and it’s always about A-Rod.
The Yankees should have told him, “If you don’t like making 22-million a year, then get lost.” Instead, the Yankees caved in like a sand castle at high tide and gave him a 10-year contract worth 27-million dollars per season. They had their chance to get rid of baseball’s biggest drama queen but now they are stuck with him for nine more seasons.
If it’s not scrounging around for more money, if it’s not trolling around with a big breasted blonde bimbo in Toronto, if it’s not a very public divorce from his yappy wife, if it’s not Madonna, if it’s not being called A-Fraud in Joe Torre’s book, if it’s not his petty jealousy of Derek Jeter, it is always something.
The latest something is the allegation by Sports Illustrated that Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003. When confronted by SI writer Selena Roberts, A-Rod simply said, “You'll have to talk to the union.” That doesn’t sound like an innocent man to me.
Alex Rodriguez has fooled a lot of people over the years. He’s a clubhouse cancer, a first class choke artist and now the joke is apparently on him because you can add steroid cheat to his list of accomplishments.
How tainted are A-Rod’s statistics? How sullied has his reputation become? How big of a black eye has this given Major League Baseball? That is up to you to decide. There is one thing we can agree on. The steroid era continues.

 
THE ARIZONA BOLDINS…By Bill Rogan (1-22-09)
We have gotten used to selfish athletes these days. The me-first behavior exhibited by Terrell Owens, Chad Johnson, Plaxico Burress and the many others just like them doesn’t shock us anymore. If these guys played in the 50’s, 60’s or 70’s their antics would have been castigated, not tolerated or celebrated.
That said, I was shocked at the incredibly selfish display of attitude from Cardinals Wide Receiver Anquan Boldin during the NFC Championship game.
With a trip to the Super Bowl on the line, a place the Cards haven’t even sniffed in their gloomy past, Boldin felt it necessary to argue with offensive coordinator Todd Haley. Boldin wanted to know why he wasn’t in the game down the stretch. Haley was busy calling plays, which by the way, led to the game winning touchdown with a little more than two minutes left.
Following the Cardinals victory over the Eagles, the Arizona players celebrated as you would expect. The crowd was jubilant, confetti flew through the air and Boldin decided it was a good time to storm off the field and leave the stadium and his teammates behind.
Later he justified his behavior by saying, “I’m a competitor.”
I don’t know about you but I’m tired of athletes who behave boorishly defending their actions with the old, “I’m a competitor” line. A majority of competitors don’t act out like a spoiled crybaby. I would have respected Boldin a little bit if he would have said, “I’m a selfish competitor.”
Boldin, who before the season said he wanted out of Arizona, is a great talent. There is no denying that. There is also no denying he’s all about himself and not the team.
Boldin is not happy with the Cardinals for refusing to renegotiate his five-million dollar a year contract. He’s not happy with the Cardinals going to the Super Bowl.
Here’s what the Cardinals should do. They should leave him home for the Super Bowl and then cut him. Maybe that would finally make the selfish Anquan Boldin happy.



IT’S TIME TO SACK FIGHTING...By bill Rogan (1-18-09)
Don Sanderson is dead and I’m willing to bet that his death will be forgotten in a hurry by the NHL and all of professional hockey.
Who was Don Sanderson?
He was the 21-year old defenseman for the Whitby Dunlops from the Major Hockey League in Ontario.
Sanderson died in a fight when his head hit the ice last month.
In the past, I’ve been one of those people that felt fighting in professional hockey was just part of the game. It was a way to police the sport. If a goon takes a run at a star player then there will be ramifications. If a game is out of hand, the losing team has to send a message.
I’ve changed my mind.
Hockey is a fast sport with amazing athletes that display skill and courage. It is a dangerous enough sport without adding the fighting aspect. With the size and strength of players today, it is only a matter of time until there is a Don Sanderson episode in the NHL.
The NBA doesn’t allow fighting. Neither does the NFL. Baseball doesn’t allow fighting although pillow fights in girls dormitories are more dangerous than baseball fights. College hockey doesn’t allow fighting and the sport is popular and growing.
So why does the NHL allow fisticuffs? Isn’t it time that fighting be outlawed in the NHL? It would actually make the game better. Players who are only good with their fists will be replaced by players who can actually skate, pass, shoot and defend.
So while I’ve been entertained in the past by fighting, the sport doesn’t need it. Hockey is good enough on its own. If the pro-fighting knuckleheads don’t want to watch hockey anymore because of the absence of fighting, then good riddance. More people will likely watch hockey because of the demise of fighting.
While fighting may be a part of the NHL’s rich and colorful history, it should be history. But my fear is that it will take a fighting fatality in the NHL before it is banned. If that happens then Don Sanderson’s death meant nothing.

 

 

WHAT'S A UTE?...By Bill Rogan (1-11-09)
If you would have told me before the season started that Utah would be in the National Championship discussion, I would have totally dismissed you.
Well, a few month's later, I have voted for Utah as my number one team in our Artificial Turf Top 17 College Football Poll.
I looked at all the contenders closely.
Florida lost at home to Mississippi.
Texas lost on the road to Texas Tech.
Southern Cal lost at Oregon State.
Good teams all. Each with impressive wins and credentials.
However, Utah didn't lose. Not once. 13-0 not only sounds better than 12-1 it is better.
Utah plays in the low-profile Mountain West Conference. They don't play the schedule that Florida or Texas play say the pundits.
True. But when watching Utah dismantle Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, an Alabama team that gave Florida a tough game, I was convinced that the Utes were for real.
Utah didn't lose. They beat everyone on their schedule. They beat a team from the vaunted SEC in a BCS Bowl game. They did everything that was asked of them.
For that reason, I voted Utah number one in the Turf Poll. And I'm not the only one who feels that Utah should be number one.
So, does that change my mind on the BCS and makes me call for a playoff? No. I like the system the way it is. Will some teams get shafted? Yes. Does it create discussion and controversy which is good for the sport? Yes. Does it make every single game during the regular season a virtual playoff game? Absolutely. If you don't believe me ask Southern Cal. Although, Utah might disagree.