If it wasn’t already clear by the makeup of the Hall of Fame Veterans Committee (old executives and players who played too early) that the late players union leader Marvin Miller has no chance at induction under the present system, it should be now. Thus, it may be time for the MLBPA to buy a piece of land across from the Hall and declare it the Marvin Miller Hall of Fame, with plaques of all the Hall of Famers he did help enrich.
Oh, and a huge banner across the front that reads, “Where History Actually Happened.”
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Jim Harbaugh credited the Candlestick Park crowd with creating a playoff atmosphere Sunday against Seattle. Good timing that – the next ‘Stick game is against Atlanta, and the one after that is scheduled for the day after an iced-over Hell.
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The press conference in New York essentially announcing that there would be no Super Bowl tailgating, non-sanctioned drop-off transportation or any alternate transportation that doesn’t require the payment of a $51 bus pass reminded us yet again that we need SBXLVIII to happen during a weeklong blizzard that paralyzes the Eastern Seaboard and buries MetLife Stadium under thigh-deep snow. We need it to be so bad that Roger Goodell can’t helicopter in, and so bad that the pregame and halftime shows are canceled. We need polar bears roaming the field and stands. We need people to remember Lions-Eagles this past Sunday to be considered a game played in the tropics. We need the game completely ruined so that the NFL can consider if it might want to think about leaving a quarter on the table now and then.
We won’t get it, of course, but we as a nation can dream.
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A Kenyan football fan jumped from a seventh story window to his death out of distress over Manchester United’s loss to Newcastle United Sunday. Seems like an unreasonable reaction until you remember how many people have plunged to harm or worse at American stadiums this year with less provocation and more alcohol.
No. Come to think of it, it’s an unreasonable reaction anyway.
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According to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, the Seattle Mariners outbid themselves for Robinson Cano, upping their own offer of nine years and $225 million to $240M.
This is actually a bit worse than the Giants outbidding the field for Barry Zito by $47 million those many years ago, but least as far as we know, they only outbid the Mets, which is almost as bad.
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The Sports Business Daily ran its annual list of bowl game player swag, and the gift range looks to be diminishing a bit, with more wristwatches and gift cards and fewer electronics. But if you’re a player at Auburn or Florida State, your bag also contains a hologrammatic image of Nick Saban haunting your dreams just on general principle.
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South Carolina’s Jadeveon Clowney was ticketed for going 110 in a 70 mph zone Monday, but credit where due – at least it wasn’t sideline-to-sideline speed.
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And finally, Mike Shanahan’s unraveling in Washington is likely to end in a lawsuit with him trying to get his remaining salary from owner Danny Snyder, who will surely fire him for being evil, or subsisting on newborn puppies outside the strictures of his handshake deal, or something like that. And from the beyond, Al Davis chants “Been there . . . done that . . . been there . . . done that . . .”
