WHAT DID I MISS?

Was I really gone that long?  Apparently it was fun, though. Annie-O said I sent a post card that said, "Having a wonderful time. Where am I?"  But I'm back now, so let's bring each other up to date.

Vod (or should I say, The Other Guy?) filled in quite admirably, ranting on about Syracuse basketball, Kevin Youkilis, Seattle Times editors, the Yankees in general, and, believe it or not, baseball caps.

** Let's start with the baseball caps. Not just any caps, Batting Practice caps. Batting practice caps? Why do you need special caps for batting practice? Don't they wear helmets during batting practice? Instead of spending money on BP caps, can't we add it to the payroll fund? That's where the Yankees could use the help. That could amount to $1000, which means they could sign...well, I hear Javier Vasquez is attempting a comeback. I understand he's pitching in Puerto Rico for the Ponce De Leon Lions, which is certainly an appropriate name for his team.

** Like most fans, I have always had my favorite player, that I would especially root for. The first was, of course, Mickey Mantle. but there were others. Sometimes it was an attitude, or an ability or even just a name. There was Sweet Lou Piniella, Scott Brosius, and who could forget, Dooley Womack? It's always sad when a Chad Picasner favorite is no more, since the selection of a new one is not easy. My last favorite was "Godzilla" Hideki Matsui. He has just announced his retirement from the game and he will be missed. A clutch hitter who always gave a maximum effort in the field and on the bases. He also had the ability to smack around Pedro Martinez, which is enough to put him in the Chad Picasner Personal Hall Of Fame.

** Speaking of the HOF (the one in Cooperstown), the list of candidates is out and contains the names of suspected and admitted steroid users, including the so-called, Toxic Trio, Bonds,Clemens and Sosa.. Some voters have said they WILL vote for them, some say they WILL NOT.  TJ Quinn, ESPN.Com, has a different take. He doesn't know what to do, so he's not going to vote. You're a columnist, TJ; you're supposed to offer an opinion and then defend it. This is the coward's way out and I hope they take your ballot away from you.
Bob Ryan says he'll vote for them some day, but not right now:   http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8774625&categoryid=2378529

** Goodbye Steinbrenners? There is talk that while the whole Yankee organization is the most valuable one in professional sports, the baseball team itself loses money every year. I know, with the price of tickets, hot dogs and merchandise, it's hard to believe, but those outrageous salaries have to come from somewhere. Analysts are now saying that the real reason for the salary freeze is to show a paper profit from the team in order to make it more feasible to sell them.  Hal Steinbrenner has publicly stated that he is a numbers man, that all he cares about is the bottom line. He's not into baseball and never goes to the games. Though the Steinbrenner family may maintain ownership of things like the YES network, baseball itself does not hold any allure for Hal, and the Yankees may one day be run by another Vod favorite,  Rupert Murdoch. (Quick, smelling salts for Vod, please.)

***THEY SAID IT***
"Georgia’s defense features middle guard Kwame Geathers, who goes 6-foot-6, 355 pounds. At Disney World, confused tourists tried to board Geathers after mistaking him for the tram."  -- Brad Dickson
" Going into Missouri Valley Conference play, the Missouri State men’s team was 2-10 with wins over Philander Smith College and Malone. Actually, Missouri State had three wins, but the victory over the University of Phoenix was disallowed on a technicality when it was realized the University of Phoenix doesn’t have a basketball team."  -- Brad Dickson
"Hard to keep track of all these bowls featuring mediocre college teams. I forget, which bowl did the NY Jets play in?"  -- Janice Hough
"Syracuse beat West Virginia 38-14 in the Pinstripe Bowl. Well, at least one New York football team has had a decent December."  -- Janice Hough
"Someone in the Texas DMV office messed up and classified Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon McCarthy as female on his new driver's license, his wife tweeted. On the bright side, it's nice to see that those NFL replacement refs are finding gainful employment."  -- Dwight Perry
"Two players for the Texas Longhorns were suspended from the Alamo Bowl. I wonder if that was without pay?"  --Greg Cote
"Canadian bobsledder Kallie Humphries has won a record eight straight races dating back to last season. She's becoming a bigger name in going downhill than Lindsay Lohan."  -- RJ Currie
"Seven swans a-swimming, OK. Six geese a-laying, Fine. But five NBA games on Christmas? C'mon."  -- Dwight Perry
"The Lakers lost 11 of their first 12 games when Kobe Bryant scored 30 points or more. Why then don't they take him out when he reaches 29?"  -- Ron Goydic


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