If I Was In Charge

Hello everyone. It has been a while since I wrote an article. With my Bulls playing game six tonight against the Pistons, and the White Sux coming in to Wrigley for the weekend, this is one of the best sports weekends of the year. With that in mind, I have been thinking about what I would do if I was in charge of all sports.

I am not talking about being a commissioner of a league. I am talking about complete control of all sports( atleast the ones that I care about, some drunken redneck in camoflauge can be in charge of NASCAR). Everything that goes on in the sports world, from announce teams to mascots falls in my domain. So I can do whatever I see fit to change the sports landscape. Anyone that knows me knows I would spend my first day in office completely restructuring the BOOYA network. But I could write about the problems with the BOOYAS until I turn sixty, so let me discuss problems that can easily be fixed.

By the way, these thoughts are not my top things I would do. I am writing this off the hip, so whatever comes into my head is going to be put to paper. However, I do know the very first thing I would do if I was in charge.

The VERY FIRST THING I would do if I was in charge of sports would be- Put Pete Rose in the Baseball Hall of Fame. This is the biggest travesty in professional sports. Pete Rose bet on baseball as a manager. He bet on his team as a manager. Pete Rose might be a complete asshole who will do anything for a dollar. But do you know what else Pete Rose did? He got more hits in baseball then ANYONE. Baseball has been around since the post civil war era, and no one, I repeat, no one has gotten more hits then Mr. Rose. The all time home run leader is in the Hall. The all time strikeout leader is in the Hall. The all time Wins leader is in the Hall. The guy with the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth most hits of all time are in the Hall. But Mr. Rose is still on the outside looking in because of the deal he made with Bart Giamatti.( I know I spelled that wrong but I don't have the patience to spell check.)

The Hall of Fame is for people who excelled on the playing field. Pete Rose did that. He is one of the top 25 players of all time. Ban him from managing again. Ban him from being involved in coaching. But put him in the Hall.

The same goes for Shoeless Joe Jackson. Yes, he was a White Sux. But not many people realize that he has the second highest career batting average in the HISTORY of baseball. Only Ty Cobb( who by the way was a complete piece of shit of a person) has a higher career batting average. Shoeless Joe may have taken money to throw the World Series ten years before the great depression, but he hit .375 in the series. Until these two guys are in the Hall of Fame, the Hall will remain incomplete.

Another thing I would do if I was in charge of sports would be to increase penalties for driving under the influence.( The goddamn Cubs just blew a four run ninth inning lead to the Mets, FUCK!) For anyone that is convicted of drunk driving, they should be suspended for one quarter of their respective season. Anyone that is convicted of a second DUI would be suspended for an entire season.

Driving while intoxicated is something that puts thousands of lives at risk No excuse is valid for it. When you throw in the fact that professional athletes can easily afford a limo or a personal driver anytime they drink, it makes a DUI by an athlete that much more sickening. Strong punishment is the only way to get this point across.

One more thing I want to change about sports? I would get rid of Joe Morgan and Tiki Barber as announcers/commentators. Joe Morgan is an egotistical jackass. Every time Sunday Night Baseball on the Booya network begins, I feel a need to vomit when John Miller mentions his "Hall of Fame" partner. Joe Morgan is god in Joe Morgan's eyes. He speaks the booya network talking points, and he states the obvious when it comes to his analysis of the game. Johan Santana is a good pitcher. Alex Rodriguez is a good fastball hitter. No shit dumbass. If people don't know that, they shouldn't be watching baseball.

As for Tiki Barber, I despise him. First off, he is NOT a hall of fame running back. He was only a every down back for five years of his career. When I think of the hall of fame running backs, I think of Sanders, Dickerson, Brown, Smith and most of all, Walter Payton. Tiki Barber should not even be mentioned in the same day. For that I apologize.

Mr. Barber spent the last two years of his football career setting himself up for a television gig. He marketed himself like crazy. Nothing is wrong with that. But he is also an egomaniac that can talk the talk but never walked the walk. I can't wait to see Keith Olberman join the NBC Sunday night football cast, but will change the channel once Tiki is shown.

So many things need to be fixed in sports. These are just three things I would do. I have many other things floating around but don't have the time to write them. Have a good day every buddy and GO BULLS. Twenty Two hours until the Cubs whoop on the Sux at Wrigley. If anyone has a topic you would like my opinion on, feel free to contact me at sportsandpolitics@yahoo.com.

NFL Draft thoughts

Well the NFL draft has come and gone, and I figured I would give my thoughts on the Bears draft, plus some guys I think will be huge busts and a couple I think will surprise people.

I am not too fond of the Bears draft at the moment. I think they reached on Dan Bazuin and they reached enormously for Garrett Wolfe. I don't have anything against either player, just where Jerry Angelo drafted them. I believe Garrett Wolfe can become an exciting third round back. He is also a true change of pace from Cedric Benson. I do think that they easily could have drafted Wolfe in the fourth or fifth rounds. I also think that passing on Michael Bush for Wolfe is a huge mistake. If Bush can get back to 100 percent health, he could be a very good running back in the NFL. Wolfe I think will be serviceable.

Dan Bazuin could have been drafted in the third round. Plain and simple. He may be a decent defensive end, but he is not as good as our top three defensive ends on the team. Can he replace Alex Brown if his play does not improve. Probably not.

I did like the pick of Michael Okwo and I love the pick of Josh Beekman. I thought they goofed when they passed over Beekman for Wolfe in the third round. Beekman was an almost steal as a fourth round pick. I wish they would have taken another offensive lineman in the top rounds of the draft, but I guess our line is going to hold on for one last hurrah.

I love the pick of Greg Oden. When he fell into the 20's of the first round, I was giddy. I started looking at every team between the current pick and the Bears pick and whom each team had at tight end. Once he passed the Jets, I only feared the Saints. And they take a wide receiver instead of the desperate need of a defensive back. At that point I was just imagining what Jerry Angelo would use at his press conference for why he didn't take Olsen. Then when it was announced that Olsen was a Bear, I was in shock.

Olsen can run and catch as well as any tight end in the league(with the exception of Vernon Davis who is faster but not a better receiver) right now. Yes, his blocking does need to get a lot better, but that will come with experience. He will make a pro bowl in his career. Now the only question is if he will do it in a Bear's uniform.

Last year I was completely floored when the Bears drafted Daniel Manning in the second round. Yes, he started a bunch of games this year, but I will still stand by my opinion on that pick. Daniel Manning still sucks. I don't care what anyone says about him, he sucks and has no place as a starting safety on a SuperBowl contending team. Watch out for fifth round pick Kevin Payne to pass Manning on the depth chart.

Enough about the Bears. The draft in general was decent, but not spectacular. JaMarcus Russell is over rated. I watched him and his predeccessor play at LSU, and they are the same player. Who did he follow at LSU? Rohan Davey, a third string quaterback on the Falcons. Russell will end up with a decent but not a hall of fame career. The Raiders should have taken Calvin Johnson and then taken Drew Stanton or John Beck in the second round. The other top quarterback in the draft will also have a decent career, but Brady Quinn is a punk.

All this crap the booya network tries to shove down the viewers throats during the draft was commical. All this sorrow and sadness because Brady Quinn was not drafted early. Then when the Dolphins passed on him, Mr. Quinn acted like a bitch and left the green room so he could go cry in the corner of a room without the camera. Hey Brady, if you want all the hype and talk about how good you are and how you should be the number one pick, then man up and take the embarrassement of not being as good as you think you are. I will never root for Brady Quinn. I despise this man.

Calvin Johnson will be in pro bowls for years to come if he stays healthy. Adrian Peterson is in the same boat. Ted Ginn Jr. was picked ten spots too high by the Dolphins. They should have picked DeWayne Bowe over him. Drew Stanton can become a pro bowl passer if he is coached right by Detroit. He reminds me of Marc Bulger with a stronger arm.

Anthony Gonzalez will have a nice career with the pass happy Colts, but he was a reach in the first round. Not quite sure if he would have lasted until the Colts next pick, but he wasn't of first round caliber. But his career in that Colt offense could make him a pro bowler.

Steal of the Draft is Michael Bush with the first pick of the fourth round by the Raiders. The Bust of the Draft could end up being JaMarcus Russell. I hope it ends up to be Mr. Quinn, but I don't see him being a horrible QB. The Packers first round pick, defensive tackle Harrell out of Tennesse has the potential to either become defensive force or being out of the league in three years.

First Republican debate tonight. Expect a couple conservatives attack Guiliani and Romney on there liberal views on gay rights and abortion( Romney as late as 2005 was pro choice, now he is stong pro life according to him.) Also on tonight is Dallas/Golden State game six. I really hope Richardson and Davis can pull it off tonight against Dallas. If they don't win tonight, they WILL NOT beat the Mavericks in Dallas in game seven. So tonight Golden State has to seal the deal.